Couscous

Ingredients:
2 pounds couscous
2 1/5 pounds meat, knuckle of veal or shoulder of mutton
1 medium-sized savoy cabbage, chopped
2 pounds onions
4 or 5 tomatoes
1 pound red pumpkin
9 ounces eggplant, quartered but not peeled
1 pound carrots, peeled and quartered
1/2 pound turnips, peeled and quartered
2 hot chilies
1 handful chopped coriander
5 ounces butter, for the stock
5 ounces butter, to pour over the couscous when cooked
1/2 teaspoon saffron (preferably crushed flowers)
1 soup spoon pepper
11 pints salt water, to taste
Directions:

1. Put the pieces of meat (cut into large pieces), 2 sliced onions, the diced cabbage, butter, salt, and pepper at the bottom of the couscous steamer. Pour in 6 liters of water and bring to boil.
2. Then put the upper 1/2 of the steamer, full of rolled couscous, over the boiling stock.
3. Seal together the 2 parts of the steamer with a piece of cloth soaked in flour and water paste so that the steam can escape only through the top. Let cook for 1/2 hour once the couscous begins to steam.
4. Take the couscous off the heat and pour into a large deep earthenware or dish. Press lightly with a ladle to separate the grains, and then allow to cool and sprinkle with water. Let the couscous air and then sprinkle with water again until the grains are swollen and soaked with water. Leave it to absorb all the water.
5. In the meantime, about an hour before serving, place in the bottom part of the steamer (which is still boiling) the tomatoes, eggplants, onions, carrots, turnips, hot peppers, and the chopped (or crushed) coriander.
6. Cook the pumpkin, which is cut into quarters, separately in a little of the stock. Check the seasoning of the stock and, a 1/2 hour before serving, put the couscous back to steam, making sure to seal the 2 halves of the steamer as before.
7. When the couscous begins to steam, remove from heat and add the melted butter. Mix well, and pour on as much of the stock as the couscous can absorb, stirring all the time. Put onto a large round dish, with the couscous heaped into a pyramid and the meat and vegetables placed in a scooped-out hollow at the top of the cone.
8. Serve, putting a bowl of the stock on one side for those who like their couscous more moist.

Yields:
8 to 10 servings

Mashwee

Mutton Mechoui
Note:
This dish is served on special occasions, especially religious holidays.
Ingredients:
6 to 8 pounds mutton, shoulder and ribs
1 heaping tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon cumin
4 ounces butter, melted
Salt, to season
Directions:

1. Wash the meat.
2. Mix together the paprika, cumin, butter, and salt, and spread over the mutton.
3. Loosen some of the skin just under the shoulder and put a little of the mixture inside.
4. Cook in the oven with the fleshy part of the meat facing down. Add a glass of water. Baste with the juice from time to time so that the meat does not dry up.
5. After about 2 hours, turn the meat over and do the same with other side and cook until golden brown.
6. Leave for 30 minutes and remove when meat can be torn off with the fingers. Arrange on a dish without the gravy.
7. Eat while hot, seasoned with cumin and salt.

Yields:
8 to 12 servings

Tomato and Pepper Salad

Ingredients:
4 tomatoes
4 green peppers
3 cloves of garlic
1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
1/4 cup fresh coriander, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon cumin
salt to taste
Directions:

1. Grill or roast peppers until skin blackens. Remove from heat and place in a plastic or paper bag. After 10 to 15 mintues, remove peppers from bag. Peel the skin and chop the peppers.
2. Chop the garlic and fry in pan with olive oil over medium heat for 1 to 2 mintues. Rinse and slice tomatoes into small cubes. Add the tomatoes, peppers, spices, and salt to the pan. Cook until the water from the tomatoes has evaporated.

Harira

Lamb, Lentil, and Chickpea Soup
Note:
Harira is the traditional meal eaten to break the fast during Ramadan; it usually is served with dates, figs, and special sweets called chabakiya. A Moroccan proverb says that if someone tells you the harira is cold, tell him to put his hand in it.
Ingredients:
Broth:
1 pound lamb, cut in large pieces
1 small onion, minced
1/4 head cabbage, cut in large pieces
1 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight (or from a can)
2 quarts water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/3 cup fresh parsley, minced
6 to 7 strands saffron (soaked in a few tablespoons of hot water)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon pepper
2/3 teaspoon ginger
1 cube chicken bouillon
Salt

Other ingredients:
1/3 cup lentils
1/2 lemon
2 pounds crushed tomatoes (in cans)
3 tablespoons flour
1/4 cup rice
1/4 cup angel hair pasta, broken up
1/3 cup fresh coriander, minced
Salt
Directions:

1. Cook the lentils in salted water. When done, drain them and squeeze the lemon over them. Set aside.
2. Cook all of the broth ingredients in a soup pot over low heat for 50 to 60 minutes, or enough time to cook the meat and the chickpeas.
3. Add the tomatoes to the broth and cook for 10 minutes.
4. Mix the flour with a little water to form a paste and then add this to the soup a little bit at a time; stir constantly to avoid lumps.
5. Bring the soup to a boil. Add the rice, pasta, coriander, and salt. Allow to simmer another 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Add the lentils and let cook for another 5 minutes. Harira should be creamy but not thick. If it is thick, add water and cook for a few more minutes; if it is too thin, thicken with more flour and water paste.
7. Some break an egg into the soup during the last 5 minutes of cooking and mix it well to keep it liquid.
8. Serve in bowls with lemon wedges on the side for those who want to add it to their soup.

Mint Tea

Note:
This is the national drink of Morocco.
Ingredients:
3/4 liter hot water
2 to 3 teaspoons green tea
Sugar, to taste
Fresh mint sprigs
Directions:

1. Rinse the teapot with 3/4 liter of hot water.
2. Place 2 or 3 teaspoons of green tea in the pot and pour a little boiling water on it, removing the water afterwards.
3. Add lump sugar to taste, (usually 13 cubes for a medium-sized pot and 20 for a big pot) and fill 1/2 the teapot with boiling water.
4. Add fresh mint sprigs.
5. Leave for a moment.
6. Serve in glasses.

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