Couscous with ‘snake’. Photo: Asma Kherfi-Nacer All the flavours of the world can be found in the kitchens of the WUR community. PhD student Asma Kherfi-Nacer, at the Laboratory for Molecular Biology, takes us to her home country Algeria.
‘A friend of mine gave me an unusual vegetable known as ‘Italian snake’ (cucuzza). It grows in southern Algeria, where we both come from. I made this couscous dish with it. Couscous is very popular in our hometown, Guerrara, and is always served with a vegetable (and meat) sauce.’
Ingredients (for 4 people):
- 1 tbsp ras el hanout
- 3 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sunflower oil
- 2 pieces of lamb
- 1 finely chopped onion
- 1 carrot, quartered
- 1 potato, quartered
- 1 swede, quartered
- 250ml tomato purée
- 2 red peppers
- 20g chickpeas
- 20g fava beans
- 20g cowpeas
- 100g pumpkin
- 100g of Sicilian squash (‘Italian snake’!)
- 40g butter
- 400g medium-sized couscous
- 2l boiled water
- 350ml cold water
- Fried peppers
Preparation
- Fry the onion and meat for about 15 minutes on a low heat together with 2 tbsp oil, 2 tsp salt and ras el hanout.
- Add the other ingredients in the list from the onion to the ‘Italian snake’ and cover with boiling water, let the sauce cook for 45 minutes on a medium heat.
- Meanwhile, in a different pan, mix the couscous with 1 tbsp oil, 1 tsp salt and 200ml cold water and let it soak for 10 minutes. Then stir and steam the couscous over the simmering sauce.
- After 15 minutes, remove the steamed couscous, stir 150ml cold water into it and let it stand for 15 minutes. It should be soft but not soggy.
- Steam the couscous for another 10 minutes, stir butter into it and put it on a big dish.
- Pour the sauce over the couscous and top with fried peppers.
- Eat for lunch with buttermilk (followed by a siesta!)
