Couscous aux Sept Legumes - A Recipe for the Nine Days

Being vegetarian, we find a lot of the variety in our diet comes from cuisines from around the world. We love Indian, Chinese, Thai, Mexican, and most other “ethnic” foods. We also like to cook traditional Jewish foods, and due to the extent of the diaspora, we can often find Jewish foods from these distant lands and cultures. Like Jewish music, Jewish food borrows heavily from the surrounding culture, but it always maintains something of its own identity. Religious dietary laws have a huge impact on ingredient use and food combinations, so there will be no Veal Parmigiana or seafood dishes. Jewish cuisine also keeps an eye on the Sabbath, and slow-cooked stews (cholents) are common, since they can provide a hot and filling meal without the need to cook on Shabbat.

One dish we have come to enjoy is Couscous aux Sept Legumes, a traditional Moroccan dish. It's a wonderful centrepiece to a Mediterranean or Sephardi-based meal, and once the chopping is finished, the stew itself comes together in moments.

This is a lovely and flexible meal. It is essentially vegan, and therefore pareve, but for dairy meals it's lovely to have a bowl of feta cheese for diners to add or not as they prefer. And while the traditional couscous is made from wheat, it tastes delicious over cooked quinoa, in case you want a change or wish to avoid gluten. You can serve it alone as a simpler meal, or with an array of salads, breads, and dips on the side, and it's even more delicious with a helping of tfaya, that rich and flavourful garnish made with deeply caramelised onions and dried fruits.

If you're looking to expand your meatless repertoire, or if you're running low on ideas for the final Nine Days before Tisha b'Av, give this a try.

Feel free to add your own favourite vegetables to the mix, or replace any that you don’t have or llike, and if the total doesn't add up to seven, I promise not to tell.

~ Beverlee

Vegetable Stew

• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 small turnips, peeled and quartered
• 1 medium yellow onion, quartered and separated into layers
• 1 large carrot, peeled, cut in half cross-wise, and quartered length-wise
• 1 small fennel bulb, cut into strips lengthwise
• 1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 teaspoons each ground cumin, paprika, and sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 cinnamon stick, snapped in half
• 2 cups water
• 1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
• 1 large or 2 small zucchini, halved cross-wise and quartered lengthwise
• 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 handful fresh chopped parsley

1. Prepare the vegetables.
2. Add everything except the zucchini, chickpeas, and parsley to a large pot or Dutch oven.
3. Heat over medium-high until the liquid starts to boil. It might seem there’s not enough liquid at first. The vegetables will release some liquid. Don’t worry yet.
4. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for about an hour, until the vegetables are mostly soft but not mushy. Add more water if necessary.
5. Optional: Turn off heat and let sit for a few hours.
6. Half an hour before serving, bring back to a gentle boil. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until they are soft.
7. Serve over couscous.

Couscous

• 1 ½ cups uncooked couscous
• 2 cups water
• 1 tablespoon butter or oil
• ½ tsp salt

1. Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the salt.
2. Remove from heat. Add the couscous, cover with a well-fitting lid, and let sit for 5 minutes.
3. Add the butter and stir in. Fluff with a fork.

To Serve

Spread the couscous over a large platter. Arrange the vegetables from the stew in a decorative fashion in the centre of the couscous, mounding it high. Pour some of the remaining broth over the vegetables. Decorate it with any or all of the following:

• Freshly steamed bright green peas
• Roasted slivered almonds
• Feta cheese
• Hot sauce / harissa
• Tfaya (recipe to follow)

Tfaya

• ½ kg / 1 pound onions, very thinly sliced
• ½ cup raisins
• 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 large pinch salt
• Pinch saffron, optional
• ¼ cup water
• 1 to 2 teaspoons orange blossom water or rose water, optional

1. Peel the onions and slice them thinly. Add the onions to a medium-sized pot or pan with all the remaining ingredients except for the orange or rose water. Turn the heat to medium-high and bring to a boil. Then cover and reduce heat at once to low, just hot enough to keep the mixture at a very low boil. Cook until the onions are very soft and a lovely deep brown. You may need to add more water to keep it from drying out. This can take well over an hour, so plan this step for when you are at home, with enough time to peek into the pot every twenty minutes or so.
2. When the onions are beautifully soft and a delicious rich brown uncover and continue to cook on higher heat until the consistency is thick like a syrup. Remove from heat and add the orange blossom or rose water, if desired. Set aside until ready to serve.
3. This reheats well, so it can be made ahead of time.