Читать книгу The New English Kitchen: Changing the Way You Shop, Cook and Eat - Rose Prince - Страница 102

It must be 20 years since I first saw a bowl of hot couscous next to a grand platter of simmered meats and vegetables. It was in France, close to the Mediterranean coast, where merguez sausages, tabbouleh and harissa – a paste made with hot red peppers – could be bought in almost every grocery. Then it seemed so alien. Now couscous, like risotto and dal, has become neo-English; it has a second home and a new following. I like to cook it in a festive way, covering the table with all the component dishes: a large platter of braised lamb and poultry, plus steamed courgettes, carrots, runner beans and golden beetroot (when I can find it – the colour of red beetroot invades in an unpleasant way). There’s a bowl filled with fresh parsley and mint leaves, another with toasted nuts and golden sultanas, a dish of harissa, and finally a large pan filled with the cooking juices from the meat, ready to ladle over everything. It’s probably inauthentic, but it works.

Serves 8 generously (I am always happy to have leftovers from this for reheating later)

2 small, corn-fed chickens, jointed and skinned (ask the butcher to

prepare them for you, with the lamb)

8 lamb shanks, trimmed of fat

10 sprigs of flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped

4 onions, finely chopped

about 2 litres/3¹/₂ pints water or chicken stock

120g/4oz butter

2 teaspoons ground coriander

8 spring carrots, trimmed of leaves, then halved lengthways

4 courgettes, cut lengthways into quarters

about 10 runner beans, cut on the diagonal into 2cm/³/₄ inch lengths

240g/8oz string beans

4 golden beetroot, scrubbed, cut into quarters, and boiled for

30 minutes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve:

leaves from 8 sprigs of parsley

leaves from 8 sprigs of mint

4 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted in a dry frying pan until golden

4 tablespoons sultanas or 4 dried figs, sliced

harissa sauce (available from Middle Eastern shops and

specialist shops)

480g/1lb couscous, cooked (see here)

Put the chickens in one saucepan and the lamb in your largest pan. Throw half the parsley and half the onion into each pan. Grind about half a teaspoon of black pepper into each, then cover with the water or stock. Bring to the boil, skimming away any foam that rises to the surface. Turn down to a simmer and cook for about 20 minutes, then put half the butter and ground coriander into each pan. Let the chicken simmer for another 20 minutes, then turn off the heat. Continue to cook the lamb for 1¹/₂ hours; it should become very tender.

Put all the vegetables in a steamer, or simply put them on top of the lamb, and cook, covered, for 10–12 minutes, until they are just tender. Bring the chicken back to the boil (if there is no room for all the vegetables in the lamb pan, you could put the rest in with the chicken and cook as for the lamb).

To serve, put the herbs, almonds and sultanas or figs into separate bowls. Lift out the meat and arrange it on a large dish with the vegetables all around. Pour all the stock into a pan, then taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary. Bring back to the boil. Spoon the heated couscous on to each serving plate, followed by the meat and vegetables, then some of the herbs, nuts and sultanas or figs. Ladle over the stock to moisten, then offer the harissa to those who like a bit of heat in their food.