Couscous
In couscous, the meat and vegetable mixture is rather long to cook, but not difficult. And the couscous itself (a kind of coarse semolina) is simple and quick to prepare.
539 K 3.7/5 (113 reviews)
2 hours 40 min.
Easy
24.95 €
10 people
21 IngredientsLast modified on: November 16th 2017
For 10 people, you will need:
- 1
4 courgettes - 2
1 leek - 3
4 carrots - 4
4 turnips - 5
1 onion - 6
1 garlic clove - 7
4 tablespoons olive oil - 8
20 meatballs (optional) - 9
800 g chicken breast - 10
4 tablespoons spices for couscous - 11
350 g tinned (canned) chickpeas - 12
2 litres water - 13
70 g tomato paste - 14
2 beefs stock cube - 15 5 glasses water
- 16 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 17
5 glasses couscous - 18
50 g butter - 19
salt - 20
pepper - 21
a little harissa (optional) - Total weight: 6,890 grams
Times for this recipe
Preparation: 50 min.
Resting: 5 min.
Cooking: 1 hour 45 min.
All in all: 2 hours 40 min.
If you start now, at , you will finish around : ?.Change start time
To finish around 7pm, you'll need to have started before: .Change end time
Step by step recipe
Stage 1 - ⌛ 10 min.
Vegetables preparation
Prepare 4 courgettes.If you have small courgettes, just cut into thick slices.
Set aside.
Stage 3 - ⌛ 10 min.
Peel and wash 4 carrots, cut into pieces, set aside.
Stage 4 - ⌛ 10 min.
Peel and wash 4 turnips, cut into pieces, set aside.
Stage 5 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stage 6 - ⌛ 10 min.
Stage 7 - ⌛ 10 min.
Do the same thing with 800 g chicken breast.
Do this for all the meats, then set aside.
Do this for all the meats, then set aside.
Stage 8 - ⌛ 3 min.
In the same pan, add a little more olive oil if necessary, add onion and garlic, salt and pepper, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes.
Stage 9 - ⌛ 1 min.
Add meat, 4 tablespoons spices for couscous and mix again.
Stage 10
Add all the vegetables and 350 g tinned (canned) chickpeas, mix again.
Stage 11 - ⌛ 2 min.
Add 2 litres water. With a spatula, scrape bottom of pan well to mix all the flavours (important).
Add 70 g tomato paste and 2 beefs stock cube, then salt and pepper.
Add 70 g tomato paste and 2 beefs stock cube, then salt and pepper.
Stage 12 - ⌛ 15 min.
Bring to the boil.
Stage 13 - ⌛ 1 hour
Then cover, and let cook on slow fire for at least 1 hour (2 or 3 hours is better).
Stage 14 - ⌛ 5 min.
Stage 15 - ⌛ 5 min.
When water is boiling, remove from heat and add 5 glasses couscous, mix well, cover and leave for 5 minutes.
Stage 16
After this time, add 50 g butter (or more), and mix with a fork. It's ready.
Stage 17
Stage 18
The traditional way to serve: a layer of couscous, then vegetables and meat, and a good deal of sauce over the top.
Remarks
To prepare a hotter sauce: take 2 or 3 ladles of stock from the pan, and in a bowl mix with a good tablespoon of harissa (according to your taste) and some chick-peas. Serve with couscous for spicy sauce aficionados.
As for the chicken, choose a good quality one (free-range, of traceable origin, or "red label" in France for instance).
Proportions are given as suggestions, do not hesitate to adapt to your taste.
You can add other vegetables if you like: bell pepper, aubergine/eggplants, and other meats: meatballs, lamb, spicy sausage, beef...
If you can't find a ready-made mix of couscous spices, you can make your own from: cumin, coriander (ground), cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and turmeric. Paprika, cloves and caraway are also sometimes used.
As for the chicken, choose a good quality one (free-range, of traceable origin, or "red label" in France for instance).
Proportions are given as suggestions, do not hesitate to adapt to your taste.
You can add other vegetables if you like: bell pepper, aubergine/eggplants, and other meats: meatballs, lamb, spicy sausage, beef...
If you can't find a ready-made mix of couscous spices, you can make your own from: cumin, coriander (ground), cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cardamom and turmeric. Paprika, cloves and caraway are also sometimes used.
And to drink?
A wine from Algeria of course, or Languedoc, something full-bodied. Otherwise a well chilled rosé from Provence.
Keeping: Several days in the fridge, in a closed jar.
Source: Home made.
Nutritional information
| Proteins (gr) | Carbohydrates (gr) | Fats (gr) | Energy value (in k-calories) | Energy value (in k-joules) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Whole recipe | 270 RDI=110 % | 320 RDI=30 % | 360 RDI=50 % | 5,580 RDI=280 % | 23,380 RDI: 280 % |
| Per 100 g | 3 RDI=2 % | 4 RDI=0 % | 5 RDI=1 % | 80 RDI=4 % | 340 RDI: 4 % |
| Per person | 30 RDI=10 % | 30 RDI=3 % | 40 RDI=5 % | 560 RDI=30 % | 2,340 RDI: 30 % |
How much will it cost?
- For 10 people : 24.95 €
- Per person : 2.50 €
Change currency:
Note: Be careful, these prices are only an estimate, you can consult the table of prices by ingredients used for this estimate.
This recipe uses (among others)
Water
Like these other recipes: How to cook rice in rice-cooker, Mustard baps, Raisin breads (pains aux raisins), Zucchini and potato scarpaccia, Sorrel soup, ... See them all 138
Chicken breast
Like these other recipes: Chinese Soup, Thai-style Chicken with Cashew Nuts, Chicken breasts with tarragon, Paella, Sliced chicken with mushrooms and broccoli, ... See them all 31
Tinned (canned) chickpeas
Like these other recipes: Lebanese-style chickpea salad, Lambé salad, Mixed vegetable curry, Chorba, Cauliflower and chickpea purée, ... See them all 10
Tomato paste
Like these other recipes: Cocktail sauce, Cassoulet, Chorba, Tomato sauce (for pizzas), Green beans "Napoléon", ... See them all 13
Other recipes you may also like
Brioche dough
It's a soft and rich dough, with butter and eggs which give a smooth and incredibly tasty brioche. This is the basic recipe for brioche dough, used for all other brioche-based recipes on the site. September 16th 2020549 K 44.2 14 hours 30 min.
How to prepare sorrel
Here is how to clean and cut fresh leaves to use in a recipe, by removing stalks and central vein, to retain only the very best of the sorrel. October 6th 2010463 K3.3 35 min.
Pancake batter
Here is a pancake batter that is a little more sophisticated than the traditional version. The pancakes will be tastier with a softer texture. February 2nd 2020389 K3.8 15 min.
How to seal a terrine or casserole dish
The French have a term for it: "luter", which means to seal around the lid of a cooking dish with dough. The dough forms a crust and hermetically seals in all the steam and flavours while the dish is cooking in the oven. This is a good way to concentrate flavours. The dish is brought to the table sealed and the crust broken open in front of diners so that everyone can share the delicious smells as they are released at that fleeting moment. It is possible to use ordinary
Potimarron and leek soup
This autumnal soup combines the flavours of Japanese chestnut pumpkin (potimarron) and leeks - they go so well together. The resulting soup is velvety smooth and delicious. November 29th 2017104 K 13.9 1 hour 7 min.