Moroccan Vegetable Couscous
Steamed couscous piled with a fragrant, spiced seven-vegetable stew — couscous itself is a shared Maghrebi staple across Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Mauritania, jointly recognized by UNESCO in 2020 for exactly that reason.
Vegan
⚠ Contains: Gluten, Dairy. Always check your own ingredients — this isn't a guarantee for severe allergies.
How this varies: Some families make a sweet version ("seffa") with cinnamon, sugar, and raisins mounded over the couscous instead of/alongside the savory stew — a legitimate Friday-lunch variant, especially further south.
Ingredients
- 2 cups medium-grain couscous
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided, plus more for fluffing
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, 1 turnip, chunked
- 1 small green cabbage, quartered
- 2 tomatoes, chopped (or 2 tbsp tomato paste)
- 1 zucchini, chunked
- 1 cup pumpkin or squash, chunked
- 1 cup chickpeas, cooked
- 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tsp cinnamon, pinch saffron threads
- 1 tbsp smen (Moroccan preserved butter) or butter (optional, traditional)
- 5-6 cups water or vegetable stock
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Raisins, to garnish
- Harissa, to serve on the side
Steps
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in the base of a couscoussier or large pot, sauté onion until soft, add spices, cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Add carrots, turnip, tomato, and smen if using; pour in water or stock, season, and bring to a simmer.
- Meanwhile, tip the couscous into a wide bowl, drizzle with 1 tbsp olive oil and a little water, and rub the grains between your palms to coat and separate them.
- Set the couscous in the steamer basket over the simmering stew (or a cheesecloth-lined colander over the pot) and steam, uncovered, 15-20 minutes once steam rises through the grain.
- Tip the couscous back into the bowl, sprinkle with 1/2 cup cold salted water, and fluff with a fork or your hands to break up lumps; let rest 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, add the cabbage, zucchini, pumpkin, and chickpeas to the stew, and simmer 15-20 minutes until all vegetables are tender.
- Return the couscous to the steamer for a second steaming, 15-20 minutes, until fully tender and translucent, fluffing with a little oil or water between steams.
- Mound the finished couscous on a large platter, make a well in the center, and pile in the vegetables, moistening generously with broth.
- Scatter with raisins and serve with extra broth and harissa on the side.