Here’s a dish that’s full of big, rich, earthy fall flavors that will appeal to the whole family. The natural sweetness of roasted carrots, parsnips, squash and shallots are enlivened with warm spices and served over couscous cooked in a saffron vegetable broth. The dish is finished with two delicious North African condiments —preserved lemon and harissa, both of which are great things to have in your culinary bag of tricks. These add complexity and heat to the dish, but they’re still a little much for Julia’s six year-old palate, so I currently leave them out of her portion (but encourage her to taste mine, of course).
The dish is also completely meatless, making it a great meal for vegetarians or “flexitarians” like us who are trying to eat a bit less meat for environmental and health reasons.
Recipe
(Adapted from “The ultimate winter couscous” in Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi. Serves 4-6.)
Ingredients
2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4-inch chunks
8 shallots, peeled
2 cinnamon sticks
4 star anise
3 bay leaves
5 tbsp olive oil
salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon hot paprika
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
2 1/2 cups (600ml) cubed pumpkin or butternut squash (from about a 10 oz squash)
1/2 cup (120ml) dried apricots, roughly chopped
1 cup (235ml) canned chickpeas
1 1/2 cup (355ml) canned chickpea liquid (and/or water)
1 cup (235ml) couscous
large pinch of saffron
1 cup (235ml) boiling vegetable stock
3 tablespoons butter, broken into pieces
2 tablespoons harissa
1 oz (28g) preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 cups (475ml) fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 375F (190C).
2. Prepare the carrots, parsnips and shallots and place them in a large ovenproof dish. Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, 4 tablespoons of oil, 3/4 teaspoon of salt and all the other spices (except the saffron) and mix well. Place in the oven and cook for 15 minutes.
3. To cube the pumpkin or squash and stay clear of the emergency room, first cut off the top and bottom. Then, cut off the skin in vertical slices. Slice the squash in half, spoon out the seeds and then cut it into chunks.
4. Take the dish from the oven and add the pumpkin or squash. Stir, return to the oven and cook for about 35 minutes more, or until the vegetable chunks have softened somewhat but still maintain their shape. Now add the dried apricots and the chickpeas with their liquid and/or water. Return to the oven and cook for about another 10 minutes, or until hot.
5. Shortly before you take the vegetables out of the oven for the first time, put the couscous in a large heatproof bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil, the boiling stock, the saffron and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and leave for about 10 minutes. Then add the butter and fluff up the couscous with a fork until the butter melts in. Cover again to keep warm.
6. Take the vegetables from the oven and stir the harissa and the preserved lemon into the vegetables. Taste and add salt, if needed, and a teaspoon or two of honey if you want to add some sweetness. (If you’re serving this dish to young children, consider omitting the harissa and preserved lemon from their portions. Their flavors are wonderful, but may be challenging to young palettes.)
To serve, spoon couscous into a deep plate or bowl. Spoon the vegetables into the center of the couscous and finish with plenty of cilantro.
