Winter Cous-Cous

This turned out to be a delicious couscous. If you want to try a vegetable couscous try this one! It is from Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. The thing I liked the most about it was the heat from the harissa. It left a wonderful aftertaste. It is a great idea for a cold wintery day.

The ultimate winter couscous

Plenty

Yotam Ottolenghi

Someone complained to the Guardian about the long list of ingredients in this recipe. But I knew it was a success when a friend spotted it on the menu (with a due credit) of the Sun and Doves, a cool and arty pub in Camberwell.

Serves 4, or even more

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks

8 shallots, peeled

2         cinnamon sticks

4         star anise

3         bay leaves

5         tbsp olive oil
salt

½         tsp ground ginger

¼         tsp ground turmeric

¼         tsp hot paprika

¼         tsp chile flakes

2-1/2         cups cubed pumpkin or butternut squash (from a 10 oz squash)

½         cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

1 cup chickpeas (canned or freshly cooked)

1-1/2         cups chickpea cooking liquid and / or water

1         cup couscous

large pinch of saffron

1         cup boiling vegetable stock

3         tbsp butter, broken into pieces

2         tbsp harissa

1         oz preserved lemon, finely chopped

2         cups cilantro leaves

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Place the carrots, parsnips and shallots in a large ovenproof dish. Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, 4 tablespoons of the oil, 3/4 teaspoon salt and all the other spices and mix well. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.

Add the pumpkin, stir and return to the oven. Continue cooking for abou 35iminutes by which time the vegetables should have softened while retaining a bite. Now add the dried apricots and the chickpeas with their cooking liquid and/or water. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes, or until hot.

About 15 minutes before the vegetables are ready, put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, the saffron and Vi teaspoon salt. Pour the boiling stock over the couscous. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave for about 10 minutes. Then add the butter and fluff up the couscous with a fork until the butter melts in. Cover again and leave somewhere warm.

To serve, spoon couscous into a deep plate or bowl. Stir the harissa and preserved lemon into the vegetables; taste and add salt if needed. Spoon the vegetables onto the center of the couscous. Finish with plenty of cilantro leaves.