I’ve always loved Moroccan food, but lately I’ve had a renewed obsession with it. The foods of the Maghreb are delightfully complex and bursting with flavor. Most dishes are slowly simmered, spice-laden, and aromatic. Sweet, salty, savory, and spicy all blend together seamlessly. Couscous is often the starch of choice in a North African meal. Here, I’ve developed a vegetarian couscous entree that is savory and slightly sweet with a hint of spice. Dried fruits, cinnamon, and harissa simmer together with vegetables and savory chickpeas. It’s a feast for the senses, no meat required.
What Is Couscous?
My Grandma Lois first introduced me to couscous after she traveled to Morocco in the mid-1980’s. These tiny balls of semolina wheat are the Maghreb’s answer to a starchy grain accompaniment. Couscous is most often served with stews or tagines (more on that below). I was delighted by the texture, so delicate and light, soaking up whatever sauce my grandma conjured. Through the years I’ve enjoyed it as an accompaniment to chicken, lemon olive chicken, and sweet lamb stew. My grandma was mostly vegetarian later in life, so I think she would have enjoyed this dish quite a bit.
Tagine vs. Stew
When I set about developing this recipe, I envisioned a Moroccan-style vegan entree that can be served for any occasion. A tagine seemed like the perfect way to go. The North African word tagine refers to a cone-like earthenware pot, as well as the slowly simmered Berber-inspired stews that are cooked inside it. I love the tagine as a cooking vessel, but few people have one in their kitchen. It made more sense to cook this Moroccan-spiced tagine in a heavy pot, rather than a tagine, so that more folks can enjoy it.
Whether this cooking method qualifies the dish as a tagine or a stew is a matter of semantics. I serve it over couscous, so I call it Moroccan-Style Vegetable Couscous. This two-pot meal is easy to make, healthy and satisfying. It’s got layers and layers of flavor, and could be served as a meatless entree or side dish.
Special Ingredients, Substitutions
Harissa is a spicy North African chili paste originating in Tunisia. It can be found at most Middle Eastern and markets. The spice adds a wonderful depth to this sweet and savory dish. Feel free to substitute sambal oelek from the Asian food section if you can’t track down harissa, they have similar flavor profiles. If you’re gluten free, quinoa makes a great sub for the couscous. Enjoy!
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Moroccan-Style Vegetable Couscous
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 medium sweet onion, diced
- 2 teaspoons chopped garlic
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 tablespoon harissa (or substitute sambal oelek)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 2 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
- 2 pounds sweet potatoes (orange yams) peeled and chopped into 1-inch chunks
- 1 pound zucchini (about 4 medium zucchini) cut into 1/2 inch rounds
- 12 ounces carrots (about 4 medium carrots) peeled and cut into 1/2 inch chunks
- 3 cups shredded cabbage
- 1/3 cup dried apricots
- 1/4 cup golden raisins
- 1/4 cup cilantro
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas (or substitute 1 can chickpeas, drained)
- 10 ounces couscous (1 1/2 cups dry - for gluten free substitute quinoa)
NOTES
Instructions
- Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium. Saute the onion for several minutes till softened. Add the garlic and saute for another minute till fragrant.
- Stir in the tomato paste, harissa, cinnamon, ginger and 1/2 cup of the low sodium vegetable broth till smooth. Bring to a boil.
- Add sweet potatoes, zucchini, carrots, shredded cabbage, dried apricots, golden raisins and cilantro to the pot. Stir till combined.
- Add remaining 2 cups of vegetable broth to the pot. Bring to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste (I use about 3/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper).Reduce heat and cover the pot. Simmer the mixture for 50-60 minutes, stirring gently 2 times during cooking, till all the vegetables are fully tender. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Remove from heat.Add chickpeas to the pot and simmer for 5 minutes more till they're heated through.
- Meanwhile, prepare couscous according to package directions.Pour cooked couscous onto a large platter. Top with the cooked vegetable stew. Serve.
Nutrition
Just made this…DELICIOUS!!!
I am making this for the 10th time! We just love it. 5 star for sure!
I find that if I am making it in advance I cop my veggies on the large side . This way it won’t get too mushy.
I also cook my fruits seperatly in a bit of the stock for those who don’t like friuts with savory. Also my chick peas.
Wow this is tasty. Great flavor, warm and filling meal. I will definitely be making this again.
This is seriously good and I make it often. It’s a great crowd pleaser and the leftovers are even better the next day.
I found a jar of ‘Moroccan Couscous Spice’ and I add a big spoon of it to the veggies and it is divine!
Thanks!!
Made this tonight for my wife and I. We loved it. So tasty. Added a glass of red wine and started a fire on a cold night.
Followed this recipe to the T, and ended up with a Sweet and spicy, watery veggie mush. The combo of cinnamon, sweet potatoes and apricots made the entire dish way too sweet, while the Sambal olek made it spicy. Wished it had a few more rich and savory notes, and wasn’t so watery.
Sorry to hear that Michaelea! A lot of readers have had a great experience with this recipe, but it can’t be to everybody’s taste.
Love this colorful dish, healthy and good. Great recipe!
Wow! This turned out incredibly well! I used regular raisins instead of golden and left out the cilantro (it tastes like soap to me), but everything else was exact. Seriously yummy!!
Loved this Tori. I made it for Rosh Hashanah dinner when the host instructed me to bring something “Grained-based Mediterranean”. I tried to keep it local/seasonal (Washington,DC early September). I found most ingredients, but made a few replacements:
I) replaced sweet onion with 2 leeks and then used the leek leaves in the stew while simmering;
II) replaced sweet potato with summer squash (note it cooks a bit faster but doesn’t matter so much for a stew)
III) I didn’t have harissa, but I used a chili/smoke paprika spice which worked well.
IV) I used dried currants instead of raisins and apricots. I think that’s fine, but the dish would have benefitted from a title more sweetness, so I would try to stick with Tori’s recipe on that one.
I used one cinnamon stick, and it was quite strong—would recommend sticking with Tori’s recipe quantity on that one.
In the end, really rich flavor evened out by the couscous (which I think goes much better than gluten free alternative of quinoa). It was a big hit at Rosh Hashanah dinner, and I look to make this or a variety of this recipe again.
Really great recipe! I used chili garlic sauce instead of harissa or sambal oelek. I also substituted ginger/garlic paste for the ginger and garlic, and had no raisins or apricots in the house so left them out. I missed the sweet fruits but nonetheless the recipe was awesome! Oh, and I also used crushed tomatoes instead of tomato paste and it maybe was a bit saucier than the original recipe, but the juicy sauce was very tasty. My kitchen smelled awesome!
So happy you enjoyed it Jenny!
Amazing recipe. I substituted parsley for cilantro. One of the best things I have ever made. 10 stars
This is a great recipe! I tried it out and it had all of those amazing Moroccan flavors. I let the sauce reduce down a lot so that the flavor was intense.
The recipe converter you use is so fantastic too, it’s amazing how just by changing the number of servings it changes the whole recipe for you and even converts it to metric! I would love to use this system for myself to make it easy in the kitchen. Could you please let me know where you found this?
Thanks!
I’m not a raisin/apricot fan- I’d prefer to keep it salty rather than sweet- will it taste ok without those ingredients? Should I change anything else if I take the raisin/apricot out?
Thanks!
Wonderful flavor! Used reviewer Jane’s spice combination as I didn’t have harissa. Added medium eggplant as I had only 2 small zucchini. Added a handful of whole purple baby potatoes as had only 1.5lb of yam. So delicious. Even 4 yo daughter loved it. Served with toasted pine nuts and greek yogurt. Will make again! Blessings and thanks!
One of my favourite recipes, Ive been making it for the last 2 years. I have just sent it to all my (grown up) children. It lasts for days and you can freeze it as well . I use butternut squash instead of yams and it is great to make the day before for guests. Thankyou Tori
Any suggestions for your other recipes?
Hi Kim! Not sure what you mean by suggestions – unless you are asking which ones I recommend. I love all the recipes on this site, they have all been tested by me multiple times and I only post things that I love! There is a helpful recipe index in the menu at the top of the page if you are looking for something specific. Glad you’re enjoying the couscous!
Amazing! Thank you for this recipe I made it last week subbing for what i didnt have on hand- prunes for apricots and Yemenite schug instead of harissa and i used red cabbage absolutely wonderful!!
Im making it again this week but adding stew meat to serve for guests. Im excited to see how it turns out because it smells amazing. Thank you for your delicious easy recipes!!
A wildly enthusiastic YES to everything except the cilantro (I’ve got that “it tastes like soap” thing going on)!
Sub fresh parsley, no big deal! 🙂
I made this when I had vegetarians for Friday night dinner. It was great. Thanks for a wonderful recipe.
I made this today with a few changes based on what I had. Raisins in place of golden raisins and apricots. Berbere instead of harissa. Parsley instead of cilantro. No zucchini. Despite these changes, THIS TURNED OUT AMAZING. It is exactly what I wanted. I think it was the dash of cinnamon that made it so exotic and delicious. Thanks for the recipe! I have leftovers to take to work and I will definitely make it again 🙂
Authentic Moroccan Couscous. Thanks for sharing!