In the summer, I like to cook family Mediterranean dishes. In France, we love Moroccan cuisine and it has become part of our food landscape for many years now. I’ve made a simple chick peas couscous which goes wonderfully with barbecued chicken or merguez sausages.

Chick Peas Couscous

serves 6-8
preparation: 3 hours

Ingredients:

• 500 gr. chick peas
• 3 carrots
• 2 turnips
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1/2 green pepper
• 3 courgettes
• 1 tomato
• 2 tsp. tomato concentrate
• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. coriander
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• salt, pepper, olive oil

Method:

1. You can use canned chick peas, but I prefer cooking with dry ones.Soak for 6 hours and change the water every two hours. Cook for 45 minutes until the peas are nice and soft.
2. In a pot, sweat the chopped onion and garlic in olive oil. Add the diced tomato, red and green pepper. Stir occasionally for a couple of minutes. Then add the halved and sliced courgettes, and the sliced carrots. Sweat a bit more and stir in the spices. Add the turnips and chick peas. Cover with water. Stir in the tomato concentrate and bring to boil.
3. Simmer on low-medium heat for 2 hours. Add a teaspoon of olive oil before serving with couscous grains.
4. You can collect a few tablespoons of the broth and mix it with one teaspoon of Harissa (Moroccan chilli paste) to season on the side.

Photo: Rodrigo H