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Recipes of Resilience: When Everything's Falling Apart—Except Dinner

By Ella Schonberger

Figure 1. Making couscous from scratch at the Kairouan Annual Couscous Festival, 2025. Source: Discover Tunisia.
Figure 1. Making couscous from scratch at the Kairouan Annual Couscous Festival, 2025. Source: Discover Tunisia.

Here at Shakshuka we believe in the ineffable power of identity and diversity - and the strength that comes from celebrating each other together. Our mission has always been to celebrate the beauty and breadth of Tunisian culture; arts, music, traditions, cuisine, and more in our DMV community.  As our lives, political institutions, and world are shaking, this series of blog posts focuses on Tunisian recipes that bring you delicious comfort and are able to simmer on the back burner while you live your life - gently filling your home with the culinary equivalent of a hug. So gather round, make something delicious, and know that whatever happens next, dinner is always there (with leftovers!). 


All blog recipes will be featured in the upcoming Shakshuka Community cookbook. This article reflects the author’s personal views and does not necessarily represent the official stance of Shakshuka NGO. We warmly welcome your favorite recipes—whether cherished family heirlooms or modernized versions adapted for today’s lifestyle. Please feel free to share them with us via email ella@shakshuka.org or by commenting on this post to be part of our community collection.



Part One: Couscous and Quiet; Finding Stillness in a Stew. 


The culinary golden “grain” of the Maghreb, couscous comes in countless variations. Couscous requires as many or as few ingredients as you’d like. With simple techniques and repetitive layered steps, the process of preparing this hallmark dish becomes almost meditative. Tunisian cuisine is celebrated for its use of  spicy harissa and tomato paste in couscous almost every savory dish - a practice that has earned it the moniker “red cuisine”. These New World ingredients are so integral that, for many, they have come to embody the essence of the cuisine. A proper meal must be red - rich with harissa and tomatoes!  Leila Chennoufi shares an amusing anecdote about her parents in Tunis. 


When her parents were newlyweds, her mother prepared only food  without red sauce. No tomatoes, no harissa, not a hint of red in sight. After just three dinners, her father reached a state of mild culinary despair. Without missing a beat, her mother handed him the spoon. He happily took over cooking for the family from then on to ensure he could enjoy the delicious “red” dishes he knew and loved - and she rarely had to cook again! Win-win for all.  


With thanks to Leila Chennoufi for the recipe.


Classic Couscous & Stew


Season: Year-Round

Category: Main Dish

Total Time: 2 hours

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour 45  minutes


The hallmark of Tunisian-style couscous is not only the spicy tomato sauce that the meat and vegetables have simmered in, but the couscous itself that is tinted red from generous ladlefulls of stew broth. The practice adds both flavor and the distinctive color, while also hydrating the cooked couscous so that it doubles in volume! There are as many variations of couscous as there are people who cook it. This is a basic version that teaches each step in detail and uses winter vegetables. We invite you to adapt this recipe to your personal (and family) taste. Be sure to read the note at the bottom of the recipe before cooking.  


Ingredients 

Couscous (Serves 6-8):

  • 300-500g wholegrain durum, barley, or sorghum Fine Grained Couscous* 

  • ½ tsp salt 

  • ¼ tsp cinnamon

  • 1/4c oil

  • ½ c water


Stew:

  • 1/2c c olive oil

  • 800g (2 lb)  bone-in lamb (or 500g/1 lb boneless, cut into 6 equal pieces)*

  • 3 TB Tomato paste

  • 1 TB Harissa (or to taste)

  • ½ tsp cinnamon

  • 2 tsp tabil/coriander, black pepper & turmeric

  • 2 tsp salt 

  • (1 bouillon cube, or a spoonful of boillon paste, to taste)

  • 3 green or anaheim peppers, halved lengthwise or left whole.

  • 3 onions, divided

  • 3 carrots, peeled and quartered)

  • 3 potatoes, quartered (0.5 lb)

  • ½ head cabbage, sliced into 3 large sections

  • 1 1/2 c chickpeas (from 1 15oz cans or 75g dried and soaked overnight prior)

  • (optional: 0.5 lb soft seasonal vegetable of choice, such as zucchini, quartered) 

1 Couscoussiere pot, clay Tunisian Tagine (different from Moroccan), OR deep pot with double steamer attachment. Wooden spoon, Cutting board, knife.


Harissa Sauce: 

  • 2 TB Harissa

  • 2 TB hot water


Instructions: 

Prepare the Couscous

  1. Pour the couscous into a medium-sized container.

  2. Drizzle with a quarter cup of olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Gently mix with your fingertips to coat every grain evenly. 

  3. Drizzle ¼ c of water at a time and mix well until the mixture is the consistency of wet sand - able to clump together when you squeeze it. 

  4. Let it sit at room temperature for at least 20 minutes. Meanwhile, start on the stew.

Stew

  1. Rub salt and spices over meat.* Set aside to marinate. Meanwhile, slice an incision in peppers (or slice in half lengthwise if very large bell peppers) and season inside with a pinch of salt. 

  2. In a large pot or couscoussière base, heat oil over high heat until shimmering and fry the peppers until their skins blister slightly, about 2-3 minutes per side. Set aside. The deep pot prevents oil splattering in your kitchen.

  3. In the same pot over medium high heat, sear meat on all sides until evenly browned (2-3 minutes each side). While waiting for the meat to sear, roughly chop an onion.

  4. Lower heat to medium and add the chopped onion. Stir, scraping up all the caramelized brown bits stuck on the pan,  until the onion turns golden. (the liquid released from the onion will deglaze the pan). Meanwhile, chop remaining vegetables and season generously with salt and tabil.

  5.  Add harissa and tomato paste to the onion-oil-meat mixture, frying until tomato paste darkens and spices become fragrant. Add a cup of water, crumbled bouillon cube, (and chickpeas, if uncooked) and let simmer for 30 mins. If using canned chickpeas, add vegetables below immediately. 

  6. Once chickpeas are tender add hardy-vegetables: quartered potatoes, seared peppers, cut cabbage, 2 halved onions and quartered carrots. 

  7. Add enough water to cover. Immediately after adding water,  place couscoussiere (or steamer) on top and allow the steam from the stew to gently cook the traditional couscous for 30 minutes as the meat and vegetables become tender. 

  8. At this point the couscous will be done - soft and fluffy with a lovely earthiness and on the softer-side of al dente. Take off the steamer and set couscous aside to avoid overcooking. 

  9. In the stewpot, mash some of the potato against the side of the pot and simmer to thicken up the stew, about 15 minutes. [add quick cooking vegetables such as zucchini and cook during this time]. The stew should have a red color and a deep savory flavor of meat and vegetables with a burning heat from the harissa. Taste stew for salt & seasoning and adjust to your taste.

  10. To Plate: Spoon cooked couscous onto a large platter. Generously spoon stew broth over couscous, gently mixing until the “grains” have doubled in volume and turned orange-ish red. Place chunks of tender lamb, chickpeas, and drizzle thickened sauce over the mountain of couscous. Cut vegetables into serving sized pieces and either arrange beautifully on a couscous-meat platter or place in a separate dish with extra broth. Arrange seared peppers on top of each plate.

    Serve with Harissa Sauce (below), Slata Tunisienne,  & Enjoy!


Harissa Sauce: 

  1. Mix hot water and harissa to form a sauce. Serve on table with couscous for those who like their meal extra-spicy.


Note: Spices and seasonings are entirely to taste. Follow your culinary heart! If using Instant Couscous which is more readily available in the U.S, use the following trick: In a bowl drizzle dry couscous with 2 TB of olive oil and ¼ tsp cinnamon. Mix thoroughly, as with dry couscous and toast the grains in a pan until lightly golden to add a little more flavor. Follow package directions, using diluted stew broth instead of hot water. Follow step 8 of the recipe as usual. 


Ingredient Variations: 

Chicken: in place of lamb, add bone-in skin-on chicken: thighs, drumsticks, and wings are tastiest.

Fish: Whole fish are best, quartered, since the bones and skin add flavor and hold the delicate meat together. If you have access to Mediterranean fish they have a unique sweet flavor, however your favorite local sturdy yet delicately flavored fish is best. Ask a fishmonger for advice and check for sustainable options. https://www.seafoodwatch.org/  

In autumn: Consider adding chunks of fennel, turnip, pumpkin (the closest to Tunisian one is Kabocha Squash), or your favorite local vegetables in place of zucchini (may have to adjust cooking time) - especially delicious with turmeric-seasoned chicken!

In spring: Sautée a sliced leek instead of the diced onion and use baby potatoes, sweet peas, and trimmed (or frozen!) artichokes. This is excellent with lamb. 

In summer: Zucchini and summer squashes of all varieties, fresh tomatoes, green beans, parsley, even American sweet corn on the cob (each cob cut into thirds) celebrate the summer season. The fresh sweet flavors and quick cooking times pair well with fish and squid. 

In winter: Using the base recipe above, try adding a quartered small orange (peel included) or another seasonal citrus fruit — an unusual but delicious twist that brightens stodgy winter vegetables.


Sources:


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