Best Vegetable Barley Couscous Recipes

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SEVEN VEGETABLE COUSCOUS



Seven Vegetable Couscous image

Seven-vegetable couscous is a well-known offering at Sephardic Jewish New Year celebrations, but since it's a bountiful, colorful tribute to the harvest, it makes a great meat-free main dish for Thanksgiving as well. Despite the long ingredient list, it's as easy as can be to make.

Provided by Tara Parker-Pope

Time 1h

Yield 8 servings

Number Of Ingredients 20

1 1/2 cups couscous, uncooked
1 tablespoon vegan margarine
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium onions, chopped
1 cup finely shredded white cabbage
1 medium turnip, peeled and diced
1 medium yellow summer squash, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced
1 15- to 16-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 1/2 cups diced ripe tomatoes
2 teaspoons grated fresh or jarred ginger, or more, to taste
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Dried hot red pepper flakes, to taste, optional
Salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup golden raisins (for garnish)
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley (for garnish)
Sliced or slivered toasted almonds (for garnish)

Steps:

  • Combine the couscous and 3 cups boiling water in a heatproof bowl. Cover and let stand until the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then stir in the margarine, turmeric and salt. Cover and set aside.
  • For the vegetable stew, heat the oil in a large saucepan or soup pot. Add the onions and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Stir in cabbage and sauté until both it and the onion are lightly golden.
  • Add the remaining stew ingredients. Bring to a simmer, then cover and reduce the heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 to 20 minutes. Add water as needed to produce a moist, but not soupy, consistency. The vegetables should be just tender, but still firm.
  • To serve, arrange the couscous on the outer edge of a large serving platter and make a well in the center. Pour the vegetable mixture in the center, then sprinkle with the garnishes, topping with sliced or slivered toasted almonds. Let each guest place a mound of couscous on his or her dinner plate and top it with the vegetable mixture.

Nutrition Facts : @context http, Calories 276, UnsaturatedFat 5 grams, Carbohydrate 45 grams, Fat 7 grams, Fiber 7 grams, Protein 10 grams, SaturatedFat 1 gram, Sodium 518 milligrams, Sugar 6 grams, TransFat 0 grams

BARLEY COUSCOUS WITH SEVEN VEGETABLES



Barley Couscous with Seven Vegetables image

Traditionally, the Berbers first made couscous with barley, and barley couscous is still very popular, especially in the south of Morocco. It is now available in precooked form from some Middle Eastern stores. You can substitute ordinary couscous. You can make the broth with lamb, beef, or veal (preferably shoulder, neck fillet, or knuckle) and with a choice of vegetables. According to local lore, seven is a magic number that brings good luck. Onions, tomatoes, and chili peppers count as flavorings, so you must have seven more vegetables. I have listed eight, so drop one. The number of ingredients makes it seem a scary endeavor, but it is only a matter of throwing things into a pot, and it makes a spectacular one-dish meal for a large party. You will need a very big pot.

Yield serves 10

Number Of Ingredients 25

5 cups barley couscous
5 cups warm water
1 to 2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup sunflower or vegetable oil
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
3 pounds meat (see above)
3 large onions
3/4 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight
Black pepper
1/2 teaspoon saffron powder or threads
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 pound tomatoes, peeled and quartered
1 pound carrots, peeled and cut into strips
1 pound small turnips, halved
1 small white cabbage, cut in chunks
1 pound new potatoes
2 chili peppers (optional)
Salt
4 stalks celery, halved
1 pound orange pumpkin, cut in 1-inch pieces
1 pound zucchini
1/2 pound young fava beans (shelled weight), or frozen fava beans, defrosted
1/2 cup chopped coriander
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Steps:

  • Prepare the couscous in a large, round, ovenproof dish as described on page 112, leaving the final heating in the oven to be done 20 to 30 minutes before serving.
  • Cut the meat into 10 pieces and the onions into quarters, then into thick slices, and put them in a large pan with the drained chickpeas. Cover with about 6 pints of water, bring to the boil, and remove the scum. Add the pepper (no salt is added at this stage since it would stop the chickpeas from softening), saffron, cinnamon, and ginger and simmer, covered, for 1 hour.
  • Now put in the tomatoes, carrots, turnips, cabbage, potatoes, cut in half or left whole if small, and the whole chilies, if using. Add salt, and cook for 30 minutes, or until the meat is very tender.
  • Add the celery, pumpkin, zucchini, cut into fat slices or left whole if they are baby ones, fava beans, and herbs. Add more water, if necessary, taste, and adjust the seasoning, and cook 30 minutes more.
  • About 20 to 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time-when the last vegetables go in-put the couscous into the oven, preheated to 400°F, and heat through until it is steaming hot, taking it out and fluffing it with a fork after about 10 minutes. Before serving, fork the butter, cut into small pieces, into the couscous and fluff up the couscous as it melts in.
  • To serve, moisten the couscous with a little broth and shape it into a cone with a crater at the top. Arrange some meat in the crater and some vegetables down the sides, then pour a little broth over the mound. Bring the remaining broth, meat, and vegetables to the table in another bowl. Alternatively, bring the couscous to the table in one dish, and the broth with the meat and vegetables in another, and serve them directly into individual bowls or soup plates.
  • Use 2 chickens cut into pieces instead of the meat.
  • For a peppery sauce, pass around a bowl with 3 to 4 ladles of the hot broth mixed with 1 tablespoon or more harissa or 2 tablespoons paprika and 1 teaspoon or more chili pepper. Although this was originally a Tunisian and Algerian custom, not Moroccan, the French like it as do some of us now.

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