Ingredients for two (multiply accordingly for more people)

vegetables/meats

meats

for the stock /couscous

1 large onion, chopped

1 courgette/zucchini, diced

beef (any part you can stew)

chicken thighs

merguez (Algerian/Moroccan type of thin spicy sausage)

when I only make it for two, I tend to go for the chicken thighs and merguez mix

1/2 vegetable stock cube

1/2 beef stock cube

Ras-el-Hanout ground spices &cumin (if you can't find Ras-el-Hanout mix, mix ground cinnamon, ground cumin, Jamaican pepper, and cloves).

tomato double concentrate

harissa sauce (typical Mediterranean hot chilli sauce in a tube, if you can't find it, use chilli paste)

couscous : medium grain, 65g/pers.

1 tomato, diced

1carrot, sliced

1 small can of chick peas

1 handful French beans (lean/green beans)

1 small white turnip/parsnip

you can also add eggplant, some people even add 1 potato diced

Cooking It

In a hot pan, pour in the oil, and grill the meats on all sides with salt, pepper and Ras-El-Hanout spices. Remove meat from pan and sauté the onions until they go slightly translucent, then add the diced carrots, zucchini, tomato and beans (split in two). Leave them to braise gently for two minutes while you prepare the stock. Mix 2/3 litre boiling water with the 1/2 cubes, spices, double concentrate (1 spoonful), harissa (according to how spicy you like it, 1 teaspoon's good), cumin. Pour this mix over the vegetables in pan, simmer and put the chicken back in (lamb and beef if you have any), leave to simmer gently for about 15/20 minutes and rectify seasoning if needed. 5 minutes before the end, add the merguez, then, in a bowl, put the dry couscous, cover with water (500ml per 500g), and leave to swell for 3 minutes. When done, separate the grains with a fork and you can even sauté them gently in a pan with olive oil or butter and a little pinch of salt.

Dress the plates: pile the couscous grains first, make a hole in the middle and fill it with the meat & vegetable mix, pour in generous amount of stock, and add a final pinch of Ras-el-Hanout (that smells gorgeous with the steam coming up from the hot dish).

Bon appétit!

Ratings:

PS: my Kabyle friend (region of Algeria) said it was even better than her mum's couscous, if that's not a complilment! Paul says if my couscous was a pair of sliders, it would be a pair of Dainese (understand who may, Valentino Rossi related).