Couscous (Three-Steam Method)

Ingredients

• 500 g semolina couscous, fine-grain, raw — not instant
• 60 g unsalted butter, divided across three rolling passes
• as needed cold water, sprinkled by hand before each steam cycle
• For the broth
• 1.5 litres water
• 500 g bone-in lamb shoulder or chicken pieces, cut into large pieces
• 7 varieties mixed vegetables, e.g. turnip, carrot, courgette, pumpkin, cabbage, chickpeas, onion — the traditional Friday seven
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• to taste salt
• To serve
• to taste harissa, served separately

Method

1. 1
   Place the meat, vegetables, and spices in the lower pot of the couscoussière, cover with cold water, and season with salt. Bring the liquid to a steady, active simmer — not a rolling boil, not a mere steep — because it is the aromatic steam rising from this broth that will flavour the grain through all three passes above it. Hold it at that pace before placing any couscous in the steamer.
2. 2
   Dampen a cloth and wrap it tightly around the joint between the lower pot and the perforated steamer basket, so that all steam is forced upward through the grain rather than bleeding out at the sides. Press the cloth firmly into any gap, because a loose seal means insufficient pressure and the grain cores will stay raw and hard no matter how many times you steam them. The test: no visible steam escaping at the sides — every wisp must exit through the top of the grain bed.
3. 3
   Sprinkle the dry semolina couscous with a little cold water and work it by hand until each grain is separate and lightly moistened, so the grains absorb the first steam evenly rather than swelling in clumps where moisture has pooled. Spread it loosely in the steamer and steam uncovered, watching until the first wisps of steam rise freely through the entire grain bed — typically from the centre outward. Remove the steamer and turn the grain out onto a wide tray.
4. 4
   This is where the dish lives or dies. Work one third of the butter into the hot grain immediately, rolling and rubbing constantly between the palms for a sustained ten minutes, because a grain that clumps at this stage cannot be separated after the second steam. Every lump must break; every grain must move freely and independently against your palm. The test: run a handful through your fingers and feel no cohesion, no knot, no soft mass.
5. 5
   Sprinkle the rolled grain again with cold water and work it in briefly by hand, so each grain arrives at the second steam carrying just enough moisture to swell without sticking. Return the grain to the sealed steamer and steam until wisps rise uniformly across the whole surface. Remove and turn out onto the tray.
6. 6
   Work a second third of the butter into the grain as before, rolling generously between the palms until any residual lumps yield, because the grain is firmer now and will hold a compressed shape if you rush this stage. The grains will feel noticeably more developed under the hand — drier and lighter than after the first roll. The test: the grain feels dry and light, not pasty.
7. 7
   Sprinkle the grain with cold water, work it briefly by hand to distribute the moisture evenly, and return it to the sealed steamer for the third and final pass. Steam until the whole bed is visibly swelled and risen, and the steam breaks cleanly and uniformly through to the top. Remove the steamer.
8. 8
   Work the final third of the butter into the grain with the same rolling motion, so the finished couscous is cloud-light and each pellet falls from the fingers separately with no clumping. Mound the couscous on a large serving dish, arrange the meat and vegetables over and around it, and ladle a little broth over the mound. Serve harissa separately.