Moroccan Cous Cous with Lamb

Our official weekend in UAE starts on Friday. Today wanted to cook for lunch freekeh, bit suddenly in the last moment changed my mind. Wanted something more light, with vegetables. Was browsing internet and saw few dishes of moroccan cuisine. Nice weekend meal, i though to myself. To cook this dish after in the evening after you reached home from work will mean that dinner will be delayed by a couple of hours. But in the weekend i have plenty of time for experiments. And i did, experiment is described below.

Moroccan Cous Cous:

500 g. Cous Cous

4 cups of water room T

70 g. butter

1/4 cup of olive oil

Pour cous cous into a wide deep plate. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and mix well with your hands.

Add 2 cups of water and mix giving air, making it fluffy. Keep aside for 10 min, until cous cous with observe all water.

Line top dish of your steamer with cotton cloth and pour one layer of cous cous in it. Steam for 5 min, add remaining. Continue steaming under the lid for 20 min.

Remove from the steamer, pour 1 cup of water and mix well with wooden spoon, breaking any combined grains.

Put it back on the steamer and allow to steam for another 20 min.

Remove from the steamer, mix again with wooden spoon and set aside, covered with a lid while you are preparing the meat.

Meat Stock:

400 g. of lamb (shoulder or leg, cut into pieces)

1 large white onion (sliced length wise)

1/4 cup of olive oil

Spices:

1/2 tsp. of turmeric

1/4 tsp saffron

1 Tsp. of black pepper powder

1/2 tsp. of ground coriander

salt

Vegetables:

1 medium potato

1 medium turnip

1 medium carrot

2-3 baby zucchinis

1 medium sweet pepper (i used yellow)

200 g. pumpkin

8 cherry tomatoes (i used 1 tsp. of tomato paste instead)

250 g. can chickpeas (washed and drained)

1. Put lamb and onions in the pot, add olive oil and fry on medium to high heat to seal the meet.

2. Mix all spices together and mix in the meat and onions. Stir and cook for another 5 min.

3. Cover with a approx. 2 l. of hot water, bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30-40 (depending on the meat) min.

4. In meanwhile prepare the vegetables to add to the stock. Peel carrot, cut in half horizontally and quarter each part. Cut the ends of mini zucchinis and slice them in four parts lengthwise. Turnips peel and cut in 8 parts. Potatoes peel and also cut lengthwise. MIx in the meat stock and let it seamer for 15 min.

5. Add drained chickpeas.

6. Add pumpkin (cut in medium pieces) and yellow pepper cut also lengthwise. Along with cherry tomatoes (i added just a tsp. of tomato paste).

7. Simmer all this mixture for 10 min until all vegetables will cook through.

To assemble:

1. Steam cous cous for 10 min. to heat it up. Remove from steamer, cut in butter and mix well with wooden spoon. Add 4 Tsp. of stock from the meat mixture, while mixing.

2. Pour cous cous into deep round dish and make a hollow in the middle.

3. Place meat and vegetables on top.

4. Pour some more stock with chickpeas over.

5. Serve with extra plate of stock on the side so everyone can put desired amount.

Enjoy! It is delicious!