The Man Who Ate Everything - Jeffrey Steingarten [153]
But couscous with fennel greens breaks several of these rules: the grains are steamed only once, and the couscoussier or steamer is covered throughout. The result is delicious and handsome as well, one of the best dishes Paula brought back from our trip to Tunisia.
As we learned in the central market in Tunis, untrimmed fennel has a small bulb attatched to a huge mane of greens; in the United States, you will quickly run out of fennel tops and find dill a handy substitute. And another thing: Tunisians use tomato paste in half their dishes. By sautéing it briefly in oil, they manage to remove its metallic, preserved taste. This is one of Paula’s favorite Tunisian kitchen tricks.
Couscous with Fennel Greens
Aziza Ben Tanfous and Paula Wolfert
½ pound fennel greens and dill
½ pound parsley
Handful of carrot tops
½ pound mixed scallions and leeks
½ cup olive oil
1 cup chopped onions
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons salt, or more to taste
2 teaspoons ground coriander seeds
1 teaspoon caraway seeds, finely ground in a spice mill or with a mortar and pestle
2 teaspoons red-pepper flakes
2 cups water
2½ cups couscous
1 fresh hot green chili, stemmed, seeded, and minced
1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and cut into 6 sections
6 garlic cloves, peeled
Wash the greens, dill, parsley, carrot tops, scallions, and leeks under running water and chop roughly. Fill the bottom of a couscous steamer with water, bring to a boil, attach the perforated top, add the chopped greens and vegetables, and steam, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool, uncovered. Squeeze out the excess moisture from the greens and vegetables and set aside.
Over a medium flame, heat the olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch skillet. Sauté the onions in the oil for 2 or 3 minutes to soften, then add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until the paste glistens. Add the crushed garlic, paprika, salt, ground coriander, ground caraway, and red-pepper flakes. Lower the heat and sauté slowly until the mixture is well blended. Add 1 cup of the water, cover, and cook for 15 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the heat, and stir in the couscous. Add the steamed greens and vegetables, and mix well. Fold in the green chili, red bell pepper, and whole, peeled garlic cloves. Bring the water in the bottom of the couscous steamer to a boil, attach the perforated top, add the contents of the skillet, and steam, covered, for 30 minutes.
Turn out the couscous onto a large, warm serving dish. Fish out the whole garlic cloves and red bell pepper slices and reserve. Use a long fork to break up lumps in the couscous. Stir in the remaining cup of cool water, taste for salt and pepper, cover with foil, and set in a warm place for 10 minutes before serving.
Decorate the couscous with the red-pepper slices in a star pattern, alternating with the whole garlic cloves. Some Tunisians eat this dish with glasses of buttermilk. Serves 6.
The city of Tunis was an hourly surprise, with its sprawling souks, Ottoman Casbah, public baths, modern hotels, and, on its outskirts, the ancient city of Carthage, founded by Queen Dido in 814 B.C., and the Bardo National Museum, with its fine antiquities, including the largest collection of Roman mosaics under one roof. (The art of mosaic may have been invented in Carthage, centuries before the Romans arrived.) Tunisia is the northernmost country of Africa—the city of Tunis is only eighty-five miles from Sicily across a narrow stretch of the Mediterranean, and so it is nearer to Europe than to Algiers, Tripoli, or Cairo. The Phoenicians