How to make Couscous with seven vegetables

Ingredients

• 600 g lamb shoulder or chicken pieces
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon each of ground ginger, turmeric and black pepper
• A bunch of coriander and parsley, tied together
• 1 x 400 g tin chickpeas, drained
• 3 carrots and 2 turnips, peeled and cut in half lengthways
• 3 courgettes, cut into large pieces
• 400 g pumpkin or butternut squash, in large chunks
• 1 small cabbage, cut into wedges
• 500 g couscous
• 30 g butter, and salt

Method

1. Put the meat, oil, onions, tomatoes, spices, herbs and 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pot, cover with about 2 litres of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 40 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, turnips and cabbage and simmer for 15 minutes, then add the courgettes, pumpkin and chickpeas and cook for 15 minutes more, until everything is tender.
3. Meanwhile, put the couscous in a large bowl with a pinch of salt and pour over 500 ml of boiling water. Cover and leave for 10 minutes, then fluff it up with a fork and rub in the butter. (Traditionally the couscous is steamed two or three times over the pot in a couscoussier.)
4. Pile the couscous in a large shallow dish, make a hollow in the middle and place the meat in it.
5. Arrange the vegetables around and on top, spoon over some broth to moisten the grains and serve the rest of the broth in a bowl.