Spiced Chicken and Vegetable Couscous

The Couscous is a dish originating from North Africa. The Moroccan people were the first ones to export it abroad. The term of couscous comes from the name of the cereal (processed from semolina) which is usually served with meat, poultry and vegetable stews or tagines.
It is very rare to find twice the same couscous since any combination of meats and vegetables can be created to prepare this dish. So get creative and make your own!

Serves 4
Preparation time: 1 hour for marinating + 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Difficulty: **

Ingredients:
For the meat, if your couscous is not vegetarian:
- 1 pound chicken breast OR any other meat (lamb is delicious in this dish), diced
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
For the vegetable couscous:
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tablespoon tomato purée
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional, depending on how hot you like it)
- 3 medium zucchinis, thickly sliced
- 1 big potato, diced
- 1 red pepper, seeded and diced
- 5/6 medium tomatoes
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- salt and pepper
For the couscous (semolina):
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

- 2 cups couscous
- 2 cups water
- salt
- 1 1/2 tablespoon butter

If your couscous has meat, start about 1 hour in advance: in a resealable plastic bag (type Ziploc), mix the oil, the spices and the diced meat. Let marinate for about 1 hour in the fridge.

In a large pan, heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and add the marinated meat. Let cook until lightly brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.

In the same pan, heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, add the onion and garlic and cook until soft. Stir in the tomato purée, turmeric, cayenne, coriander and cumin. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes.

Add the potatoes and pepper with enough water to come halfway up the vegetables. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and let simmer for 15 minutes, covered.

If you prefer peeling the tomatoes, do so, with a vegetable peeler or by plunging them into boiling water, refreshing them in cold water and them peeling away the skins.

Chop the tomatoes.

Add the meat, the tomatoes, the zucchinis and the chickpeas to the other vegetables. Cook for a further 15 minutes or until the vegetables are just tender.

Season with salt and pepper and keep hot.

To cook the couscous, bring 2 cups of water to the boil with 1 tablespoon of oil and salt, in a large saucepan. When boiling, remove from the heat and add the couscous. Cover and allow swelling for a couple of minutes. Then add the butter and heat through gently, stirring to separate the grains.

Pour the couscous in a large serving dish and spoon the meat and vegetables on top. Pour over the liquids and serve.