Basics For Couscous – We Love God!

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CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Vegetables	Moroccan	Moroccan	1	Servings

INGREDIENTS

VEGETABLES.

INSTRUCTIONS

There must be seven vegetables, never fewer - usually onion, carrot,
green peppers, courgettes, turnip, white cabbage, aubergine. An  eighth
is essential, tomato.  The lamb, too, is crucial. Tender 2 month old
lamb is best, because  it is tender. It is skinny. It has no fat, but
is has the flavour of  the herbs it feeds on, thyme, rosemary, wild
fennel.  Basically, everything cooks in the pot for an hour, but the
hard  vegetables go in first and the tender vegetables for the last 20
minutes. That's it. It cooks at a rolling boil, and there's the rub.
For the last half hour, the couscous has to be cooked in a colander
above it, where it steams.  We have problems trying to mimic this. For
a start, we can't buy the  quality of couscous he uses; one which
readily takes on the flavours  of the stew steaming underneath, and
absorbs a certain amount of  butter.  Most couscous sold in Britain,
and France too, is pre-cooked, so  follow the instructions on the
packet. (Note, if it is too robustely  steamed it will cook to a mush
suitable only for invalids.) But for  interest, should you be able to
obtain authentic grain, this is how  he cooks it. (Middle Eastern shops
should stock it. It has a gutsy  texture and character.)  This is what
Monsieur Boujeema Mars, eminent chef des cuisines, La  Mamounia,
Marrakech, Morrocco, does: There are three stages. He wets  12 ounces
of couscous with one cup of water only. He lines a colander  (which
fits over his stew pan) with muslin, and put the couscous  inside.
Using the muslin, he ensures a tight seal between pan and  colander. He
places the lid loosely on top and steams the couscous  for 10 minutes.
He removes the colander, stirs in a knob of butter,  adds another cup
of water, and steams it a further ten minutes. He  repeats the process
a third time, making the cooking time 30 minutes  in all. Posted to
EAT-L Digest 21 Jul 96  Date:    Mon, 22 Jul 1996 13:54:50 EDT  From:  
erika metzieder <100627.3022@COMPUSERVE.COM> NOTES : Monsieur  Boujeema
Mars, chef des cuisines of La Mamounia, Marrakech, Morocco,  gave this
recipe to the Independent. See also "Basics on Couscous".

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