Moroccan Couscous with Vegetables and Meat

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

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

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveWide, shallow pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and deep 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.

To assemble

1. 3
   Add the beef and fry 5 minutes.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 4
   Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, cinnamon, salt and black pepper and stir.
3. 5
   Add the carrot, squash, water and chickpeas and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 6
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 60 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. 7
   Add the zucchini 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. 8
   Bring the liquid to a boil and pour it over the couscous.

   StoveSmall saucepan
7. 9
   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. 10
   Serve the couscous on a plate with the stew and broth on top.
9. 11
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.