Moroccan Couscous with Vegetables and Spices with homemade cooked chickpeas

👨‍🍳 Method

For the homemade cooked chickpeas ✓ Homemade · or skip – back to store-bought

1. 1
   Soak the chickpeas overnight in plenty of cold water.

   Bowl

   💡Soak in plenty of water, well above what's being soaked: legumes and grains swell and drink water, and whatever sticks out stays hard. Drain well before continuing.
2. 2
   Drain, cover with plenty of unsalted water and cook 1.5–2 hours, skimming off the foam and skins from time to time, until the chickpeas are very soft and crush easily between your fingers.

   ColanderStovePot

   💡Fully cooked chickpeas crush between your fingers with no resistance at all. Chickpeas that stay a little firm make a grainy spread, and no amount of tahini will fix it.
3. 3
   Drain, reserving a cup of the cooking liquid.

   Colander

For the Fried onion

1. 4
   Heat the olive oil in a pot over medium heat.

   StovePot
2. 5
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   Stove

   💡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.

To assemble

1. 6
   Add the carrot and fry 3 minutes.

   Stove
2. 7
   Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon and black pepper and stir.
3. 8
   Add the tomatoes and zucchini and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 9
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

   StoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 10
   Add the chickpeas and cook another a few minutes.

   Stove
6. 11
   Bring the liquid, oil and salt to a boil and pour it over the couscous.

   StoveSmall saucepan
7. 12
   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. 13
   Serve the couscous on a plate with the stew on top.
9. 14
   Sprinkle the cilantro and olive oil on top.