Couscous with lamb, vegetables and confit onion

A complete couscous dish with lamb leg, vegetables, roasted peppers, confit onion with raisins and chickpeas, with two couscous cooking options: boiled or steamed.
confit
legumes
main dish
stew
traditional
vegetables
Ingredients
Servings
6
Measurement units

Leg / Ras el Hanout

  • 1 young lamb leg (or shank, peixet, flat lid…)
  • oil
  • honey
  • Ras el Hanout mix
  • 1 white onion
  • 2 ripe tomatoes
  • 2 culleradetescumin
  • 1 culleradetacardamom
  • 2 culleradetesginger
  • 2 culleradetesturmeric
  • 2 culleradetescoriander
  • 2 culleradetesblack pepper
  • 1 culleradetaclove
  • 1 culleradetanutmeg
  • 1 culleradetacinnamon
  • 1 culleradetasweet paprika

Confited onion

  • 2 white onions
  • oil
  • honey
  • 1 brancacinnamon stick
  • Málaga or Corinth raisins

Roasted peppers

  • 1 red pepper
  • 1 green pepper

Stock and vegetables

  • 3/4 courgette
  • 2 carrots
  • 1 turnip
  • cooked chickpeas
  • 1/2–0.75 litrechicken stock (one carton)

Couscous

  • 70 grscouscous per person
  • the same weight of water
  • a pinch of salt
  • 7 grsbutter per 70 g couscous
Nutritional Information

Per serving

Calculated for 6 servings

Calories
438 kcal
Protein
22.1 g
Fat
23.9 g
Carbohydrates
36.1 g

Calculated from reviewed ingredient weights and pinned USDA FoodData Central records.

Step-by-step Guide

Advance preparation

Advance maceration of the raisins.

  1. The day before, soak the raisins in cold water with a cinnamon stick for 24 hours.
  2. Set aside the macerated raisins.

Confit onion

  1. Slice the white onion into julienne strips and confit it over low heat in a saucepan with oil, a little honey and a cinnamon stick.
  2. When the onion is confited, add the macerated raisins from the day before, once drained.
  3. Mix and cook for 2 more minutes.
  4. Set aside the confit onion with the raisins.

Roasted peppers

  1. Separately, roast the peppers in the oven.
  2. Clean the roasted peppers.
  3. Set aside the peppers.

Cooking the lamb leg

  1. Blanch the tomatoes, peel them, remove the seeds and chop them.
  2. Slice the white onion into julienne strips.
  3. Cut the leg into rather large pieces, season them with salt and coat them with oil, honey and a little of the spice blend; leave them to marinate chilled for 1:30 hours.
  4. Put oil in a casserole and, when it is very hot, sear the pieces of meat.
  5. Lower the heat and add the onion and chopped tomato.
  6. Cook for 3-4 minutes.
  7. Add part of the roasted peppers, finely sliced.
  8. Add 2 tablespoons of spices and about 750 ml of chicken stock.
  9. Cook covered over low heat for 40 minutes.
  10. While the meat cooks, cut the vegetables into large dice.
  11. When the meat has been cooking over low heat for 45 minutes, add the vegetables and cook, covered, for 20 more minutes.
  12. If the vegetables have very different cooking times, stagger their cooking and add them in stages.

Plating

  1. Put couscous on the plate.
  2. Place the shredded, boneless meat in the centre of the couscous.
  3. Arrange the smaller vegetables around the couscous, removing them with a draining spatula.
  4. Place the larger-cut vegetables on top of the couscous.
  5. Add the previously cooked and heated chickpeas.
  6. You may caramelize half the chickpeas in a saucepan with water and plenty of sugar until they take on a toasted colour; then combine them with the other half.
  7. You may also add these previously cooked chickpeas directly to the dish or to the stock before finishing cooking.
  8. Finally, add the roasted peppers, the confit onion and the reserved raisins, previously warmed slightly.
  9. Finally, drizzle with a ladleful of stock.
  10. To improve the presentation, you may use a large toroidal mould so that the couscous does not spread out; without removing the ring, place the small vegetables around it and, once arranged, remove it.

Boiled couscous cooking

Boiled option.

  1. Bring the water to a boil.
  2. When the water comes to a boil, add a little salt.
  3. When the water is boiling, add the couscous and stir it gently with a spatula, as little as possible; it should not be stirred much.
  4. Turn off the heat and let the couscous rest for 5 to 7 minutes, according to the manufacturer's label instructions.
  5. Transfer the couscous to a glass bowl.
  6. Add a few cubes of butter, without adding too much.
  7. Stir it gently with 2 forks, interlacing the tines, until the grains are separate.
  8. If you want to prepare it cold for a salad, once cold separate the grains again with two forks.

Steamed couscous cooking

Steamed option.

  1. Bring water to a boil in the steamer pot.
  2. Place the dry couscous in a glass bowl, add a drizzle of oil and stir it with spread fingers.
  3. Then add the cold water to hydrate it and mix with spread fingers.
  4. Leave it to hydrate for 3 minutes, until it absorbs the water.
  5. Place double aluminium foil around the edges of the pot so that it seals better and no steam escapes.
  6. Transfer the couscous to the perforated steamer insert; if the holes are too large, line it with a clean kitchen cloth so that the couscous does not escape.
  7. Cover the pot and steam the couscous for 10 minutes.
  8. Transfer the couscous back to the glass bowl.
  9. Add a few cubes of butter at room temperature, 10 g of butter for every 100 g of couscous, and stir with two forks until the grains are separate.
  10. Return the couscous to the perforated steamer insert and steam it for 10 more minutes.
  11. Return it to the glass bowl and stir gently with 2 forks until the grains are separate.
Recommendations & Tricks
  • If the vegetables cook at different rates, stagger them.
  • Half the chickpeas can be caramelised with water and sugar.
  • Couscous: the same weight of water as semolina.
Original recipe
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    Couscous with lamb, vegetables and confit onion | The Catalan Table