The ultimate winter couscous

Name: The ultimate winter couscous
Yield: Serves 4, or even more
Ingredients: ¼ tsp ground turmeric; ¼ tsp hot paprika; ¼ tsp chilli flakes; 2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks; 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks; ½ tsp ground ginger; 5 tbsp olive oil; 4 star anise; 20 g butter, broken into pieces; 170 g couscous; large pinch of saffron threads; 260 ml boiling vegetable stock; 300 g pumpkin or butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks; 8 shallots, peeled; 2 cinnamon sticks; 75 g dried apricots, roughly chopped; 200 g chickpeas (canned or freshly cooked); 350 ml chickpea cooking liquid and/or water; 25 g preserved lemon skin, finely chopped; 30 g coriander leaves; salt; 3 bay leaves; 25 g harissa paste

Preparation info

Serves
4
, or even more

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

Plenty

By Yotam Ottolenghi

Published 2010

About

Someone complained to the Guardian about the long list of ingredients in this recipe. But I knew it was a success when a friend spotted it on the menu (with a due credit) of the Sun and Doves, a cool and arty pub in Camberwell.

Ingredients

2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 2cm chunks
8 shallots, peeled

Main course
Winter
Vegetarian

Method

Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Place the carrots, parsnips and shallots in a large ovenproof dish. Add the cinnamon sticks, star anise, bay leaves, 4 tablespoons of the oil,