Vegetable couscous with chickpeas and toasted spices

Couscous is the dish for a big table, the one you set down in the middle so everyone can help themselves. And it has never needed meat: what it needs is well-toasted spices and a proper broth.

The lab’s tips

• Toast your spices. 1 minute in the hot oil with the onion, stirring. That one move is what gives the broth its deep flavour.
• Even better: whole coriander seeds. Toast them in a dry pan, then crush them with a pestle. The flavour is much brighter than with ground coriander.
• Let the parsley steep. Drop a few whole stalks into the broth and take them out at the end of cooking. Keep the leaves for serving.
• Look after the broth. It’s the soul of the dish: choose a good-quality stock powder or cube.
• Go for wholewheat couscous. It brings more fibre and raises blood sugar less than white couscous.
• For those who like it hot, put a jar of harissa on the table and let everyone spice up their own bowl.
• Missing the “real thing”? Brown some vegan merguez sausages separately and lay them on the vegetables when serving.

Vegetable couscous with chickpeas and toasted spices

A 100% plant-based couscous for a big table: seven vegetables, chickpeas, toasted spices, a broth with parsley steeping in it, and wholewheat couscous.

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Prep 20 minutes mins

Cook 30 minutes mins

Total 50 minutes mins

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

  

Vegetables and broth

• 600 g medium potatoes (5), halved
• 600 g carrots (3 large)
• 500 g zucchini (2)
• 450 g onions (3)
• 300 g turnips (2)
• 300 g sweet peppers (2)
• 1 jar chickpeas drained
• 30 g raisins a handful, optional
• 10 g garlic (2 cloves), crushed
• 30 g flat-leaf parsley (1 bunch)
• 4 g ras el hanout
• 2 g ground coriander or seeds, toasted and crushed
• 2 g ground cumin
• 1 g turmeric
• 30 ml olive oil
• 10 g vegetable stock powder
• 1,5 l water
• salt, pepper
• harissa to serve, optional

Couscous

• 300 g wholewheat couscous
• 300 ml boiling water or broth ladled from the pot
• 20 g vegan margarine
• olive oil, salt a drizzle

Prep

 

• Peel the carrots, turnips, potatoes and onions. Cut the carrots and turnips into chunks, the potatoes in half, the zucchini into thick rounds and the peppers into strips. Slice the onions and crush the garlic.
• In a large pot, heat the oil. Sweat the onions and garlic for 3 minutes. Add the spices and stir for 1 minute.
• Add the carrots, turnips, potatoes and peppers. Pour in the water and the stock powder, season with salt and pepper. Drop in 3 or 4 whole parsley stalks. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• Add the zucchini, chickpeas and raisins. Cook for another 15 minutes, until everything is tender. Remove the parsley stalks.
• Meanwhile, rub the couscous with salt and oil between your fingertips. Pour the boiling liquid over it, cover and leave to swell for 5 minutes. Add the margarine in small pieces and fluff with a fork.
• Serve the couscous in deep plates, arrange the vegetables on top and ladle over the broth. Scatter with chopped parsley just before serving.

Lab notes

For those who like it hot, put a jar of harissa on the table.

Missing the “real thing”? Brown some vegan merguez sausages separately and lay them on the vegetables when serving.

Tried this couscous? Show me your table on Instagram by tagging @le_labo_vegan_de_fred.