Couscous & Aubergine Stuffed Peppers

Arabic/Middle Eastern cuisine is one of the best on the planet. It is so full of aromatic flavours and most all it smells so wonderful when you are cooking it. These peppers are stuffed with lots of flavours from very hot [harissa] to sweet [raisins]. We served them with some seasoned natural yoghurt. One of my tricks is to put all the spices in a small jar or small container with a lid and give them a good shake so as when you use them the spices are distributed evenly into the dish. You can call the spice mix Ras El Hanout [which literally means shopkeeper]. This term is used in North Africa [mostly Morocco] to define spice mixes sold in shops/market, every shop/seller has his own spice blend...hence the name! This dish is 100% vegetarian and will  make our vegetarian friends very happy...so please do give it a go. For 4/5 peppers you will need...

For the stuffing

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 medium sized aubergine, diced into 1cm cubes
• 50g raisins
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 teaspoon harissa
• Ras el Hanout spice mix *
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Extra water
• 200g couscous
• 200ml boiling water
• 4/5 Bell peppers, top taken off and deseeded

Ras el Hanout spice mix

* ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon turmeric powder, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, freshly ground black pepper, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom, pinch ground ginger, pinch ground cloves, sea salt (to taste).

Laban dip

• 250ml natural yoghurt
• Freshly chopped mint [or 1 tablespoon dried mint]
• Ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp Extra virgin olive oil

How to...

1. Fry the onion in some oil until soft and transparent. Add the diced aubergine & garlic and cook covered for a further 5 minutes, stirring occasionally adding a little water if necessary. Now add tomato paste, harissa, raisins, Ras el Hanout spice mix and some more olive oil. Cook for a further 10 minutes on low heat.
2. Prepare the couscous by pouring 200ml boiling water on the couscous. Stir with a fork and cover for about 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, separate the grains with a fork and add some olive oil and stir well.
3. Add the couscous to the onion/aubergine mixture and mix well.
4. Put the peppers (with the pepper top) in the microwave for 5-6 minutes on high. Take peppers out and carefully stuff the peppers tightly. Put the stuffed peppers in the microwave again and cook for a further 10 minutes on high. 
5. Alternatively, put the peppers in an oven dish and add some water or tomato sauce at the bottom of the dish. Bake in a 200°C preheated oven for about 40-50 minutes.
6. Mix the laban ingredients together.
7. Serve with the yoghurt and pita bread.

Enjoy!!

R&A

Couscous à la Tunisienne - Tunisian Style Couscous

Here goes another favourite recipe of mine. My mother got this recipe from a Tunisian family during one of her  visits to Tunisia...it bursts with flavours...succulent lamb, aromatic spices, tasty vegetables...so genuine...the best part of it...you must eat this dish with your right hand's first three fingers to get the Arabic feeling!!!! According to Arab culture, if you use less than three fingers to eat you are showing arrogant manners, whereas if you use both hands that is an indicative of an overpowering greed. This is one of the reasons that the vegetables in this dish are cut into big chunks so as they can be picked up. Anyway, you can eat this with a fork as well mind you! :) Me being a massive xenophile [in love with different cultures] I just feel like I have to eat it like that. Oh and you definitely need a massive pot...we use a thick-bottomed 6L pot. 

You can do this dish for a dinner party or when you have friends over and you want to impress.  In this recipe I use shoulder of lamb but if you cannot find any, you can use lamb shanks that can be found everywhere. If you do not fancy lamb you can use chicken or if vegetarian you can omit the meat. Harissa paste is a chilli paste coming from Tunisia, this can be found in most supermarkets [It is very hot so be careful of the amount you put in] Click on the name in the ingredients list to see which one is it. You will see in the ingredients list that there is a long list of ingredients but most of it is vegetables, so do not give up. So come on, do give it a go!! You will need...

• 1kg bone-in shoulder of lamb, trimmed of all fat
• 500g pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into large pieces
• 1 large leek, cut into large pieces
• 2 green peppers. quartered
• 2 onions, quartered
• 3 gloves of garlic, crushed
• 5 small potatoes, cut in half
• 1 large marrow [like the one in the picture or 4 small ones], cut into large chunks
• 1 turnip, quartered
• 5 carrots, cut in half
• Olive oil
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tbsp harissa paste
• Salt & ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 500ml water
• 1 tin chick peas
• 250g couscous

How to...

1. In a large pan, fry the lamb in olive oil, add the garlic, salt and pepper, stirring all the time until golden. 
2. Add the onions, tomato paste and harissa and stir well. Add a little water at a time. 
3. Add all the other vegetable chunks and sprinkle the cumin. Add the remaining water and cook until the meat is tender about 1½ hours covered but make sure you stir the pot every once in a while.
4. Add the chick peas and give the pot yet another good stir.
5. Remove the meat from the pot and add the couscous and some extra olive oil. Remove the pot from the heat and cover tightly and leave for 5 minutes.
6. Mix the pot well and serve hot.

Enjoy!!
R&A