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Traditional Tunisian Couscous

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 6
Calories: 997kcal
Homemade soup with meatballs for your bed of couscous.
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Ingredients

For the soup

  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 4 chicken thighs
  • 1 tablespoon Ras el Hanout spice mix
  • 2-3 tablespoons salt or more to taste
  • 2 cups peeled cubed turnips
  • 2 cups peeled cubed carrots
  • 2 cups peeled cubed zucchinis
  • 1 15- ounce can chickpeas
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • ½ teaspoon harissa paste
  • 1 6- ounce can tomato paste

For the couscous

  • 1 ½ cups of instant couscous
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons salt
  • 1 ½ cups boiling water

For the meatballs

  • 1 small onion
  • ½ bunch flat leaf parsley
  • ½ baguette or 4-5 ounces white bread
  • ½ pound ground beef
  • Pinch salt
  • ¼ teaspoon pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons tomato paste
  • ⅓ cup water
  • ¼ cup all-purpose flour

Merguez sausages (optional)

  • 4 merguez sausages
  • 1-2 tablespoons olive oil

Instructions

  • In a 12-quart stockpot sauté the onions with the olive oil for about 5 minutes on high heat.
  • Season chicken with Ras el Hanout and salt. Add chicken to pot and sear on all sides. Reduce heat to medium.
  • Add turnips, carrots, zucchini, chickpeas, garlic, harissa paste and tomato paste and gently mix in pot. Add water to cover.
  • Bring to a boil for about 10 minutes, reduce heat to medium and let soup cook for 1 hour.
  • While the soup is cooking, prepare the couscous, meatballs and merguez as follows:
  • In a medium saucepan or a similar sized ceramic dish, add instant couscous. Add oil and salt and stir well with a spoon to coat the couscous. Add boiling water and stir again. Cover with a lid or a clean dish towel until the couscous has doubled in size, about 10 minutes. Fluff with fork.
  • Prepare meatballs. Preheat oven to 380℉. Chop onion and parsley in a food processor.
  • Soften the baguette by running water over it for about 10-30 seconds. Squeeze out the excess water and add the baguette to the food processor.
  • Add ground beef, salt, pepper and cumin to the food processor and blend it all together.
  • In a small bowl combine eggs, tomato paste and water, mix until smooth and red-orange throughout. In a separate bowl place flour. Shape meat into 1 ½ - 2 inch balls and dredge them in flour and then egg wash.
  • Bring a large saute pan over medium high heat and coat with a layer of oil. Sauté meatballs on all sides. Place in oven for 10 minutes to finish cooking through.
  • In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add merguez and cook on all sides until browned and cooked through. Alternatively cook on a grill.
  • Assemble and serve. Place couscous in a large bowl or platter. Over the center pour vegetables and chicken with broth. Arrange merguez and meatballs over top and serve hot.

Notes

When preparing this meal for a Shabbat dinner keep meatballs and merguez warm in a separate dish from the soup. Add enough water to cover the bottom of your dish, so the meatballs won’t burn, and discard the water before serving the meatballs.

Nutrition

Calories: 997kcal | Carbohydrates: 92g | Protein: 45g | Fat: 50g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 22g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 200mg | Sodium: 4025mg | Potassium: 1496mg | Fiber: 13g | Sugar: 18g | Vitamin A: 1371IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 227mg | Iron: 10mg