Couscous

In Morocco, they make this elegant couscous with small Mediterranean pigeons, but squabs and small poussins will also do.

The special feature of this dish is the exquisite mix of honeyed caramelized onions and raisins called tfaya which is served as a topping of the long-cooked, deliciously tender meat. The broth which moistens the grain is the meat broth. A sprinkling of fried or toasted almonds is an optional garnish.

This is the most famous Moroccan couscous, which you can improvise around. It can be made with lamb or chicken or with a mix of the two. In local lore, the number seven has mystical qualities. It brings good luck. Choose seven vegetables out of those listed—onions and tomatoes do not count as vegetables but as flavorings, so choose seven more. It is a long list of ingredients, but the making of the dish is simple—a matter of throwing things into a pot—and it feeds a big party. The soup or stew can be prepared well in advance, and so can the grain.

Many years ago, hearing of her prestigious cooking, I went to see a woman in Casablanca. She received me in a pale-blue kaftan on a patio with turquoise-and-cobalt mosaics. She explained that her family was from Fez and that her cooking was Fassi, which is reputedly the most refined regional cuisine of Morocco. She had three cooks working for her, but when she had guests, even only one or two, she said she spent at least six hours cooking in the kitchen herself. I asked if there were ways of shortening the cooking times. She said no. Her daughter, who was studying law in the States, interrupted: “Yes, there are shortcuts, you don’t have to take that long.” Her mother was deeply offended. Were all those years that she had spent in the kitchen to please her family a waste, then? Were all her efforts to make things exquisite of little value? We cannot, of course, aspire to the extraordinary refinements of the grand family kitchens of Morocco, but we can achieve quite delicious results without much trouble. One of the recipes the lovely lady gave me was for pigeons stuffed with couscous. When she had a party, she prepared a huge mountain of couscous and covered it with little pigeons, shining and golden in their honey sauce. This is an extremely easy version of the grand dish. Using quick-cooking couscous makes it easy. You can double the number of pigeons for a dinner party, but then you will need more large saucepans.

This salad, which was born in France as the North African “tabboulé,” is not governed by strict rules, as is the classic Lebanese one of the same name made with bulgur. It is filling and easy to do for a large company. You can make it in advance. It does not spoil.

A sweet couscous made with the fine-ground couscous called seffa (see page 28) is served hot, accompanied by a drink of cold buttermilk or milk perfumed with a drop of orange blossom water served in little glasses. The couscous needs quite a bit of butter because there is no broth. See the suggestions below for extra garnishes.

Traditionally, the Berbers first made couscous with barley, and barley couscous is still very popular, especially in the south of Morocco. It is now available in precooked form from some Middle Eastern stores. You can substitute ordinary couscous. You can make the broth with lamb, beef, or veal (preferably shoulder, neck fillet, or knuckle) and with a choice of vegetables. According to local lore, seven is a magic number that brings good luck. Onions, tomatoes, and chili peppers count as flavorings, so you must have seven more vegetables. I have listed eight, so drop one. The number of ingredients makes it seem a scary endeavor, but it is only a matter of throwing things into a pot, and it makes a spectacular one-dish meal for a large party. You will need a very big pot.

The special feature of this dish is the exquisite mix of caramelized onions, honey, and raisins called tfaya, which is served as a topping to the long-cooked, deliciously tender meat.

This aromatic herby couscous with young tender vegetables and no meat makes a lovely main dish. Vegetarians will love it. Use fresh young fava beans and peas (some supermarkets sell them already shelled) or frozen petits pois.

This is sumptuous and extremely easy. The meat is cooked very slowly for a long time until it is meltingly tender and you can pull the meat off the bones with your fingers. The stuffing—it is the traditional stuffing for a whole lamb—is sweet with dates and raisins and crunchy with almonds. (In Morocco, they add sugar or honey but that makes it too sweet for me.) The couscous needs plenty of butter as there is no sauce, but you can substitute oil if you prefer. Try to get the fine-ground variety of couscous called seffa (see page 28), otherwise use the ordinary medium-ground one. For the dates, use the Tunisian Deglet Nour or Californian varieties that you can find in supermarkets. A shoulder of spring lamb is always fatty but most of the fat melts away during the long cooking. If it appears too fatty, as might be the case with an older lamb, carefully remove some of the fat before cooking.

Because they are small birds, with one per person, it is worth stuffing them. A few butchers sell the special baby Mediterranean pigeons or pigeonneaux or squabs. Otherwise, buy the smallest poussins possible.

The couscous stuffing is the traditional one used for all birds, especially Mediterranean pigeons (the French pigeonneaux or squabs) and chickens. A generous amount of stuffing is made, enough to fill the chicken and to have some on the side, but it makes more sense not actually to bother stuffing the chicken. It is best to use the fine-ground couscous called seffa (see page 28) but you can use the ordinary medium one.

This mild side dish complements vegetable curries as well as recipes made with hearty winter vegetables, as in the accompanying menu.

This is a superb accompaniment to curries and other spicy dishes. See the menu with Tofu and Sweet Potato Curry, page 139.

This is a flexible recipe that I frequently rely on when I want an easy, nourishing main dish. I vary the combinations each time I make it. See the cooking notes for specifics on cooking grains in this chapter, and pages 110 to 111 for cooking beans, if you choose to use dried beans.

Here’s a light grain salad using versatile, quick-cooking couscous.

I’ve baked these spicy chicken breasts for crowds, and always receive lots of compliments. The original recipe was for grill-cooking, but this version works year-round.

Talk about a lean bean! Adding about 1/2 cup of filling high-fiber chickpeas to your daily diet can cut your consumption of fatty foods, a study in the journal Appetite finds.

In addition to being a great source of good-for-you fat, avocados are full of fiber and bloat-busting potassium.

Whole wheat couscous, a newcomer to supermarket shelves, gives this dish a nutty flavor—though standard couscous works just as well. Serve it with Slow-Baked Salmon or Miso-Glazed Salmon Steaks .