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Fish Couscous

Couscous is a small pasta—not a grain as most people believe—as well as the name of almost every North African dish that contains it. So there are innumerable fish, vegetable, meat, and chicken couscous dishes (see pages 526 to 527 for a couple of others). You can cook the couscous separately (see page 526) or steam it on top of the simmering stew, a nice touch for which you will need either a special utensil called a couscoussière or a steamer rigged inside of a covered pot in which you cook the sauce. If you are not comfortable cooking pieces of whole fish, substitute a firm fillet like red snapper or grouper and reduce the fish cooking time to about 10 minutes; do not overcook.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    makes 6 to 8 servings

Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves
2 dried hot red chiles
1 large onion, peeled and quartered
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 medium potatoes, preferably waxy, peeled and cut into chunks
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
2 tomatoes, cored and chopped
1 teaspoon saffron threads, optional
Salt and black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon mild paprika
Cayenne to taste
One 3-pound red snapper, grouper, black sea bass, or other firm fish, gilled, gutted, scaled, and cut crosswise through the bone into big chunks
2 medium zucchini, cut into chunks
4 cups cooked couscous (page 526)
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Combine the oil, garlic, and chiles in a large saucepan or casserole and place over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, about 15 seconds. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then stir in the carrots, celery, potatoes, bay leaves, and cumin; stir once or twice. Add 1 quart water (or fish stock if you have it) and bring to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a steady simmer.

    Step 2

    Stir in the tomatoes and saffron if you’re using it and raise the heat again; cook, uncovered, until the tomatoes break down, about 10 minutes. Add some salt and pepper along with the paprika; taste and add more of any of these, along with cayenne if necessary (the dish should be slightly hot). Cover and cook until the vegetables are just about tender.

    Step 3

    Add the fish and the zucchini. (If you are steaming the couscous over the stew, set that up also and cover.) Simmer the fish for about 20 minutes, or until it is cooked through (a thin-bladed knife inserted into its center will meet little resistance).

    Step 4

    Toss the couscous with some of the cooking broth to soften it. Place it on your serving dish and top with the stew. Garnish and serve.

The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved. MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.
TagsStewSoup/StewCouscousPastaNorth AfricanAfricanSnapperFishSeafoodSea BassBassZucchiniSquashVegetableMainDinnerDairy FreeGluten FreeNut FreeOne-Pot MealsCookbooks
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