In Morocco couscous is the Friday dish. After the midday prayer, families gather around a large round platter and eat together, with a spoon or by hand, from the edge towards the centre. The rest of the week you find it in restaurants, but on Fridays it is everywhere.
The grain
Couscous is durum wheat semolina, rolled by hand with a little water and flour until it forms small, regular grains. In Berber villages it is still made from barley. It is then steamed in a couscoussier set over the broth, two or three times, fluffed between each pass. That patience is what makes it light.
The seven vegetables
The number is symbolic: seven brings luck. The vegetables change with the season. Most often: squash, carrot, turnip, courgette, cabbage, onion, and chickpeas. Sometimes broad beans, tomato, pumpkin. All cooked in a broth scented with ginger, turmeric and saffron, with meat or without.
At the table
The couscous arrives in a dome, the vegetables arranged around it, the meat on top, the broth on the side. You ladle it over. A small bowl of tfaya, onions slowly cooked with raisins and cinnamon, often comes with it. You drink buttermilk, or tea.
At our table
At La Table du Berbère seven-vegetable couscous is on the menu every evening, with chicken, beef, merguez or vegetarian. It is cooked to order: book and order ahead.
To find a good one in town any day of the week, see where to eat couscous in Ouarzazate.
