Couscous Royal
A generous platter of steamed couscous topped with a spiced lamb-and-chicken stew, root vegetables, chickpeas and merguez sausage, served with harissa on the side for anyone who wants more heat.
About this dish
Couscous itself is Amazigh (Berber) in origin, a staple of North African cooking for over a thousand years, traditionally steamed in stages over a simmering stew in a two-part pot called a couscoussier so the grain absorbs its aromas as it cooks. "Royal" versions loaded with multiple meats — lamb, chicken and merguez together — are a more recent, generous restaurant-style addition, built for feeding a table rather than reflecting any single traditional household recipe, though the technique underneath stays the same.
- Not vegetarian because of Lamb shoulder, cubed, Chicken thighs, Merguez sausage, Chicken stock
- Contains gluten because of Couscous
- Contains dairy because of Unsalted butter
Ingredients
- 500gLamb shoulder, cubed
- 400gChicken thighs
- 300gMerguez sausage
- 400gCouscous
- 1lChicken stock
- 200gOnion
- 200gCarrot
- 200gTurnip
- 200gCourgette
- 240gChickpeas
- 30gTomato paste
- 40gRaisins
- 10gFresh ginger
- 5gGround turmeric
- 3gGround cinnamon
- 4gGround coriander seed
- 50gUnsalted butter
- 30gHarissa paste
- 12gFine sea salt
Instructions
Melt the butter and brown the onion, lamb and chicken, then stir in the ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and ground coriander seed and cook 2 minutes until fragrant.
15 minTip: Bloom the spices in the fat briefly rather than adding them to the liquid straightaway — this wakes up their flavour far more than simmering them in stock alone.
Add the stock, carrot, turnip, chickpeas, tomato paste and raisins, bring to a boil, and simmer 40 minutes until the meat and vegetables are tender.
40 minTip: The raisins aren't a garnish here — as they simmer they melt into the broth and give the stew its characteristic faint sweetness against the spice.
Add the merguez and courgette and simmer a further 10 minutes until the sausage is cooked through.
10 minTip: Courgette cooks fast and turns to mush if it goes in too early — adding it late keeps it holding its shape on the plate.
Steam or hydrate the couscous according to the packet, fluffing with butter, and mound onto a large platter. Top with the stew and serve harissa on the side.
10 minTip: Fluff the couscous with a fork, never a spoon, working butter through it grain by grain — this is what keeps a couscous royal light rather than a dense, clumped mass.