Wednesday, January 19, 2011

The Ultimate Winter Couscous

I had a couple of little butternut squashes that I’d been neglecting, and a turnip collection sat hopeful but lonely in the vegetable bin. It was time to find a good winter dish where they’d be put to use. That didn’t take long once I grabbed my copy of Plenty. The recipe really is called the ultimate winter couscous, but I don’t think that means you have to stick to it too precisely. You could use any type of winter squash, and turnips weren’t even mentioned in the ingredient list, but I was sure they’d be fine. What was in that list was carrots, parsnips, shallots, dried apricots, chickpeas, chopped preserved lemon, harissa, and lots of spices. The vegetables were to be roasted until tender and sweet, and I could imagine the smell of the spices filling the kitchen before the oven was even warmed. I think this is the ultimate winter dish because it really couldn’t go wrong. It was full of warm spice flavors, sweet roasted charm, and perky acidity and heat.

First, big chunks of all the vegetables needed to be roasted, and I used carrots, parsnips, turnips, and butternut squash. Shallots were added to the roasting pan along with cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, ground ginger, ground turmeric, hot paprika, chile flakes, olive oil, and salt. After roasting for a bit, chopped dried apricots, chickpeas, and a little water were added to the pan. Just before the vegetables were ready, couscous was added to boiling water with saffron and olive oil. After the couscous had absorbed the water, butter was added, and the couscous was mixed and fluffed. When the roasting pan was removed from the oven, a big spoonful of harissa and some chopped preserved lemon rind were stirred into the vegetables. The couscous was served topped with the roasted vegetables and some chopped cilantro leaves.

This was such a fragrant dish, and it hit on just about every flavor you can name. The preserved lemon added little sparks of brightness here and there while the cilantro brought some fresh herbiness. The flavors of all the vegetables had become sweeter and more intense from roasting, and the spices permeated each bite. This was an ultimate winter dish, and I’ll remember it next time my butternut squash or turnips or parsnips are feeling overlooked.



27 comments:

  1. Extremely healthy and so cucculent!

    Cheers,

    Rosa

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  2. Delicious couscous and a great tip on roasting the veggies first. I always made it as a stew so I will try your method next.

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  3. Very hearty! With all the spices and root veg, no wonder it's called the ultimate winter couscous!

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  4. That looks divine, so rich and flavourful, a fantastic meal for when you want to make something vegetarian.
    *kisses* HH

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  5. Looks like a great and filling dish :) i like that it has roasted vegetables and chickpeas

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  6. Your couscous sounds delicious. Love that you roasted the veggies first.
    I had in my pantry a jar of preserved lemons and did not know how to use them, thanks to your couscous recipe I know.
    Thanks for sharing, hope you'll have a great rest of the week

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  7. I agree, this is the ultimate couscous!

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  8. This looks like the perfect dish to put in my tagine Lisa! :D

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  9. I absolutely love dishes like this one. I am teaching a Moroccan inspired couscous dish in my January classes. Mine is a little less involved, stove-top rather than oven, tamer spices etc, but still really delicious. I forgot about harissa and will offer that as a topping next week. I've loved everything I have made from that book and I'm sure I will love this one too!

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  10. I'm a butternut squash and parsnip gal myself. This dish sounds a bit Moroccan inspired to me. Fantastic!

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  11. wow I have a weakness for such a comforting and healthy winter veggie stew! Awesome!

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  12. Now that's a lovely healthy, warming dish of veggies! I knew I needed harissa for something!

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  13. I am in for such multiple flavors you are talking about. And love the addition of cinnamon, star anise to elevate the nuances.

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  14. I'm trying so hard to incorporate more veggies into my meals this year, and this recipe is definitely one that will help with that :) Thanks!

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  15. What a gorgeous photo and root vegetables with couscous sound like a great combination!

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  16. Perfect dish, I almost wish it was a little colder here in L.A. but it's almost Spring outside!

    I may need to get this cookbook...

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  17. ok, now i really need to make some of this!! looks heavenly:)

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  18. This really does sound like an ultimate couscous with all the wonderful spices and vegetables, excellent!

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  19. what a treat! the veggies are great, especially roasted, the spices are amazing, and the other add-ins (specifically the chewy apricots and toothy chickpeas) are wonderful as well. delightful.

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  20. That looks delicious and tempting! What lovely colors and flavors!

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  21. This looks amazing! I love all the wintery vegetables in a fresh dish like this.

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  22. I love the rich tastes of roasting of vegetables first, it caramelises them beautifully, this is a lovely colourful winter dish with yummy couscous.

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  23. I am cooking this sometime this week! Thanks for a great recipe.

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  24. Such a lovely couscous and combo of roasted veggies -yum!

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  25. There's nothing like a good couscous and a hearty combination of root veggies to get all feeling right.

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  26. Sounds so right for right now! a bowl full of goodness with the love of spice

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  27. Oooh, I made this too, recently! (just haven't posted it yet) Glad to hear you liked it as much as me! :)

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