MOROCCAN SOUP WITH COUSCOUS

Chef Emmanuel Stroobant shares his favourite comfort food recipe that will take you to the northwest corner of Africa. 

(Serves 8)

INGREDIENTS

Olive Oil [80ml]
Onions [3, peeled and chopped]
Celeriac [1, peeled and chopped]
Turnip [5, cut into wedges]
Carrots [3, peeled and chopped]
Salt [to taste]
Pepper [to taste]
Ground cumin [3 tsp]
Paprika [3 tsp]
Ground coriander [3 tsp]
Tomato paste [3 tbsp]
Vegetable stock [2 litres]
Couscous [250g]
Butter [100g]
Canned chickpeas [240g]
Courgettes [2, cut into 5 cm lengths]
Tomatoes [3, peeled and chopped]
Raisins [50g]
Fresh coriander [20g]

METHOD

• Heat olive oil and dry onions, celeriac, turnips and carrots for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and dry spices (cumin, paprika and coriander) and fry for 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and vegetable stock. 
  
• For this dish, you can use pre-steamed couscous or durum semolina wheat. To prepare couscous, pour it into a big bowl and by hand, mix with 1 glass of water to wet it and then add 2 tsp salt. 
  
• In a steamer, place soup in the bottom basket and couscous in the top basket. This way, the couscous will be cooked by the steam from the soup. Cook for 20 minutes and then remove couscous from the steamer. 

FINISHING

• Mix butter in the warm couscous and use a fork to separate the grains so that they do not stick together. 
• Add chickpeas, courgettes and tomatoes into the soup. When cooked, sprinkle some raisins and fresh coriander leaf on the side as a garnish. 

 

This is the vegetarian version of the recipe Moroccan Lamb Shoulder Soup with Couscous, which first appeared in Cuisine Unplugged: Reinterpreting European Cuisine with an Asian Touch published by Marshall Cavendish. 

View the recipe in issue 02 of our
quarterly food and beverage e-magazine here: