If you’re as crazy as we are for the melange of spices in ras el hanout, you’re also probably equally fond of couscous and the various soups, or tagines, that accompany it. Couscous is treated like a grain, but it’s actually a pasta made from semolina flour. We know that because one of us spent a significant amount of time rubbing and rubbing the granules with olive oil to ensure that the couscous would ‶steam up light as air,″ in the words of our teacher at Marrakech’s Souk Cuisine Cooking School (soukcuisine.com). It was a cooking class that radically changed our cooking habits.

In fact, that’s the couscous we helped make pictured above. It happens to be with a tagine featuring pumpkin, sweet onions, carrots, and zucchini. Now that pumpkin is returning to the markets here in New England, we may soon be adding the dish to the weekly rotation. Our recipe adapted from Souk Cuisine is below. It won’t be the same as enjoying it in a riad just off jemaa el fnaa, the main square of the Marrakech souk. But it will have to do for now. Morocco’s borders are closed except for repatriation of Moroccan nationals. So we have to rely on the flavors of a good couscous to carry us back, if only in memory

VEGETABLE COUSCOUS WITH PUMPKIN AND SWEET ONIONS

Serves 4

The ingredient list looks daunting but the dish is quite straightforward. Ras el hanout is a Moroccan spice mixture available at gourmet shops and Middle Eastern grocers. If unavailable, substitute a blend of equal amounts of ground cumin and ground anise with a pinch of ground cloves. Cooking the couscous in one pot while simultaneously cooking the onions and pumpkin in another is easy if you chop, slice, and measure everything in advance. Allow about 1 1/2 hours cooking time after initial preparation. Expect the couscous to triple in volume after the third steaming.

COUSCOUS

INGREDIENTS

1 small onion, chopped
bouquet garni of three sprigs each of parsley and cilantro
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tomato, peeled and finely diced
1 can (15.5 oz.) chickpeas, drained
2 teaspoons butter, divided
1/2 cup olive oil, divided
3 cups water, divided
1 1/2 cups couscous
salt
4 large carrots, sliced lengthways
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, sliced lengthways
1/2 cup tomato juice

DIRECTIONS

In bottom of a couscoussière or stew pot with fitted steam basket, add ingredients through the chickpeas along with 1 teaspoon butter and 1/4 cup olive oil. Saute until onion is soft. Add 2 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil.

Meanwhile, mix couscous with 2 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl, rubbing between your fingers to evenly distribute oil. Place in top of couscoussière or steam basket. Seal seam between top pot and the couscoussière or steam basket with a long strip of plastic wrap rolled to make a gasket. Cook uncovered until steam rises from the surface of the granules (about 15 minutes).

Transfer the couscous to a large, shallow bowl. Using your fingers, rake it while adding 1/4 cup water. Add salt to taste (about 1/2 teaspoon). Let stand 5 to 10 minutes. Return the couscous to the top of the couscoussière and cook again until steam rises through the couscous.

Remove couscous to a shallow bowl and add 1/4 cup water and 2 tablespoons olive oil, mixing well. Add carrots to stock with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and cover to simmer 10 minutes.

Add zucchini to pot and simmer until tender (about 7 minutes).

Add tomato juice to pot and return couscous to top element or steam basket. Cover and steam for 5 minutes.

ONIONS, PUMPKIN, AND RAISINS

INGREDIENTS

1 lb. onions, thinly sliced (about 4 medium or 5 small)
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ras el hanout
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
generous pinch of saffron threads (8-12)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 small pumpkin, seeded, peeled, and cut into 1-inch dice (about 2 1/2 cups)

DIRECTIONS

Place all ingredients except sugar, raisins, and pumpkin in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Cover with a lid. Simmer until the onions are soft and almost cooked, about 30 minutes.

Add sugar, raisins and pumpkin. Simmer until very soft, another 45 minutes.

When ready to serve, remove couscous to shallow bowl and stir in 1 teaspoon butter. Remove bouquet garni from the vegetable stock. With slotted spoon, remove carrots, zucchini, and chickpeas from stock and arrange over couscous. Spoon sauce of onions, pumpkin, and raisins over center.