Moroccan Couscous with Vegetables and Meat

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion turns golden.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the meat and fry 5 minutes, until browned on all sides.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 5
   Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, ras el hanout, salt and black pepper and stir.
3. 6
   Add the carrot, tomatoes and water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 40 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Add the zucchini and green beans and cook another 20 minutes.

   Stove

   💡Hard vegetables (carrot, eggplant) go in first, and zucchini only toward the end of cooking: that way they're all tender and none fall apart.
6. 9
   Bring a little of the stew's broth to a boil and pour it over the couscous.

   StoveSmall saucepan
7. 10
   Cover 5 minutes and fluff the grains with a fork.

   💡Fluff with a fork, not a spoon: a fork separates the grains, and a spoon mashes them into clumps.
8. 11
   Serve the couscous on a plate with the stew on top.
9. 12
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.