Main Ingredients:

See below ingredients and instructions of the recipe

Cooking Preparation of the Recipe:

2/3 c Dried chickpeas 1 Bay leaf
3 tb Olive oil 2 ts Crushed dried mint
2 lb Lean, boneless lamb shoulder 1 ts (scant) salt (or to taste)
1/2 c Chopped white onions 1/4 ts Freshly ground black pepper
5 c Boiling water 4 Medium-sized carrots
3 tb Fresh lemon juice 3 sm Turnips
1/2 c Ripe tomatoes 2 c Couscous
1/2 ts Cinnamon 3 sm Zucchini
1/4 ts Freshly grated nutmeg 2 Italian sweet peppers

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight in four times their volume of water in a
noncorrisble bowl.

2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed 5- to 7-quart pot.

3. Cut the lamb into 1-inch cubes. Brown them (in batches, if necessary)
on all sides over moderate heat. Transfer the meat to a warm platter.

4. Reduce the temperature to low and saute the onions for 2 minutes,
stirring frequently.

5. Add the lamb, boiling water, lemon juice, tomatoes, cinnamon, nutmeg,
bay leaf, mint, salt, and pepper. Stir, cover, and simmer the mixture vfor
20 minutes.

6. Drain the chickpeas and stir them into the lamb mixture. Simmer the
ingredients, covered, for 45 minutes.

7. Begin this step 5 minutes before step 6 is completed. Peel the carrots
and turnips. Cut the carrots into 3/4-inch long segments and the turnips
into 3/4-inch cubes. When step 6 is completed, stir these ingredients into
the pot containing the lamb. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.

8. Begin this step as soon as the carrots and turnips start simmering in
step 7. Put the couscous pellets in a 2- to 3-quart pan. Pour cold tap
water into the pan until it reaches a depth of 1 inch above the pellets.
Soak the pellets for 10 minutes.

9. Pour the couscous into a sieve, discarding the water. Return the
couscous to its soaking pan. Slowly strain two cups of the broth from the
large pot into the couscous. Bring this mixture to a simmer. Cover, and
cook for 5 minutes over low heat.

10. Slice the zucchini into 3-inch cuves and the peppers into 1/4
inch-thick rings. When step 7 is completed, stir in both ingredients and
simmer the mixture, covered, for 10 minutes.

11. It should be time to turn off the heat under the simmering couscous
pellets as soon as the zucchini-and-pepper mixture starts simmering in step
10. Fluff the pellets, cover the pan, and let it stand for 8 minutes. Then
pour off any remaining liquid.

12. Mound the couscous pellets in the center of a warm, large serving
platter. Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat and vegetables from the
pot and neatly arrange them around the mound.

Serves 6 to 8.

From: GREAT PEASANT DISHES OF THE WORLD by Howard Hillman ISBN
0-395-32210-3. Houghton Mifflin, Boston. 1983 Posted by: Karin Brewer,
Cooking Echo, 7/92

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