Couscous bidaoui aux sept légumes — Casablanca, Morocco

Couscous bidaoui aux sept légumes — Casablanca, Morocco

Casablanca, Morocco

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This version belongs to the family Couscous, which holds 2 versions placed elsewhere. None is presented as the original.

"Bidaoui" means "from Casablanca", and it's the couscous the city claims as its own: the one with seven vegetables, served on Friday after prayers. The number is symbolic and the list varies with the season — squash, carrots, turnips, courgettes, cabbage, tomatoes, chickpeas, sometimes broad beans or aubergines — but the principle stays the same: a large red broth, coloured with tomato and saffron, in which the meat then the vegetables cook, and semolina rolled by hand and steamed three times. The dish is mounded into a dome, with the vegetables arranged in rays and the meat in the centre, and a bowl of broth and a spicy harissa or chilli sauce are served on the side.

Preparation

  1. 01

    In the bottom of the couscoussière, fry the meat and onions with the spices. Add the tomatoes, the bunch of herbs and 2.5 litres of water. Cook for 40 minutes.

  2. 02

    Moisten the semolina, place it in the top of the couscoussière and steam for 20 minutes. Remove, fluff, moisten, season with salt and repeat twice more.

  3. 03

    Add the carrots, turnips and cabbage to the broth, then 20 minutes later the squash, courgettes and chickpeas. Cook until tender.

  4. 04

    Butter the semolina, mound into a dome, arrange the vegetables and meat, and serve with the broth and a chilli sauce.

Where this version sits

A single, final coordinate: Casablanca, Morocco. Another version of the same dish, elsewhere, gets its own point.

Photo: ZRAFIQA — CC BY-SA 4.0

Other versions of Couscous

Couscous — , which holds 2 versions placed elsewhere. None is presented as the original.

More recipes from Morocco

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