Tunisian Chicken and Pumpkin Couscous is a traditional Tunisian recipe for a classic dish of couscous served topped with lamb, pumpkin pieces and vegetables which are cooked beneath the couscous and where the couscous is prepared from scratch. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Tunisian version of: Tunisian Chicken and Pumpkin Couscous.
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This recipe, is a classic Tunisian dish of couscous served topped with chicken and vegetables that's a national dish of Tunisia. It can also be prepared with lamb. The time of cooking is less than when you make Couscous with lamb, so keep that in mind. Chicken Couscous takes 1-1 1/4 hours whereas lamb takes between 1 1/2-2 hours.
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs
1 medium onion, peeled and thinly sliced
80ml olive oil + 2 tbsp for the Couscous
Water (1l or more for the sauce + 4 tbsp for the Couscous)
1 1/2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tsp (heaped) ground turmeric
1 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
5-7 garlic cloves
2 tsp smoked paprika
Salt and freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
120g cooked chickpeas
2 medium carrots
1 large potato
1 courgette
4 generous chunks of pumpkin (or butternut squash)
1 long sweet pepper + 4 more fried for garnish (optional)
400g Couscous
Method:
Add the onions to the bottom pot of your couscousier or the pan of a steamer along with the olive oil, chickpeas, chicken thighs, the tomato purée, and the spices. Place over medium-high heat and mix well until the chicken is thoroughly and evenly seasoned and the tomato purée has dissolved. You might need to add a few splashes of water for this step. Let the ingredients cook for 5-10 minutes then add the remainder of the water. It should cover the chicken thighs.
Meanwhile, cut the vegetables into large chunks. Once the water comes to a boil, add one whole potato with the skin on. (This ensures that the potato doesn’t fall apart and become mush.) Add the carrots as well.
To Prepare the Couscous: Whilst the sauce is boiling, place your Couscous in a large bowl. Drizzle olive oil and season with salt and mix it with your hands/fingers. Make sure that each small ball is coated with the oil. This makes the Couscous not stick together while steaming. Add approximately 4 tbsp of water and mix again. The couscous should be damp to the touch — not soaked. Set aside.
Once the sauce has boiled for about 10-15 min, add the courgette and pumpkin. Place the Couscous in the steamer pot on top of the sauce and let it steam for 20-30 min.
Once all the vegetables and chicken are cooked, remove the Couscous and put it in a large bowl. Then, using the steamer pot, pour the sauce in it. This should separate the sauce and the vegetables. The sauce goes with the Couscous and the vegetables remain in the pot.
Mix lightly with a large spoon then cover the bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes. Uncover, and mix again and see if more liquid needs to be added. I recommend you taste the Couscous for this step and adjust the seasonings with butter, salt and black pepper, as needed.
Once ready, serve in a shallow bowl with a piece of chicken, pumpkin, a potato slice, carrots, courgettes, and a spoonful of chickpeas. You can top it off with a fried long bell pepper. Serve hot.
If desired you can also garnish with pomegranate seeds.
