North African Cous Cous, Two Ways

In Paris The Economist and I had north African cous cous twice and they were our favorite meals. If you've never had it, it's basically a stew served over cous cous, a very tiny piece of wheat pasta. I'm making it two ways--a vegetarian version, and a lamb shank version. The idea here, especially with the meat, is to let it roast slowly in the oven for a long time on a low heat so the meat ends up tender, juicy and melting off the bone.

For the meat version, start with an oven-proof dish and enough lamb shanks to fill it loosely. I had never cooked lamb shanks before I made this stew for the first time, but I must say they are a very satisfying thing to cook and eat. You also need onions, a can of chopped tomatoes, some garlic and chicken (or lamb if you can it) stock.
There is a mix of spices that goes into the stew. Don't worry too much about quantities or the exact mix. Whatever you've got works, just make it spicy if you want. I used ginger, cumin, paprika, ground coriander, nutmeg, cinnamon, dried red chili pepper flakes and cayenne pepper.
The vegetarian cous cous the Economist had in Paris was called cous cous sept legumes--7 vegetables--but I couldn't think of a 7th, so my version is cous cous six legumes. For this version use whatever vegetables you have around. I like to use sweet potato, zucchini, onions, carrots (here little baby chantenay carrots--so pretty!), a can of chick peas and a can of chopped tomatoes. You also need more garlic and vegetable stock, as well as the spice blend from above.
For the cous cous you need cous cous, obviously, some boiling water, and I like to add raisins for a sweet burst.
So let's start the lamb stew. Put some olive oil in the bottom of a large saucepan. Once it's really hot, put the lamb shanks down into it to sear the outside of the meat. (I think I should have trimmed the fat off these lamb shanks, but I forgot to.)
This accomplishes the goals of giving the meat color (otherwise it will be hideously white and raw-looking), rendering down the fat and connective tissues on the outside and giving a bit more flavor by caramelising and crusting the outside. So I'm told.
When that's done, remove the shanks and set them in your oven dish to rest for a minute while you do the vegetables for the meat stew.
In the bottom of the saucepan, you'll get all the caramelized, concentrated meat juices and a bunch of rendered liquid fat. It's probably a good idea to skim the extra fat off, because you don't really need it. Leave a little bit there though, to cook the onions in.
Toss in the onion halves and minced garlic and give it a stir. This is not to cook the onions really, just to get them going so they roast/braise slowly in the oven later.
At this point, add the spices. A little bit of each one, but go easy on the nutmeg and if possible use a while cinnamon stick, not here, but later.
Next add the can of tomatoes.
And the chicken stock. Bring the whole thing to the boil.
Then pour the whole volume over the lamb shanks in the oven dish. Nestle a stick of cinnamon into the depths of the liquid to perfume the whole thing. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and put the whole into a very low oven, around 150 C (what is that in F? I don't know.)
Next, start working on the vegetarian version. Roughly chop all the veggies into largish chunks. In a hot frying pan, heat a little olive oil, then put in the vegetables, one at a time to sear the outside a bit. This is mostly for the color as before, and not an attempt to cook them. They'll just look so much prettier later.
Do each type of vegetable including the sweet potatoes, zucchini, onions and carrots. Pour them all into another oven dish. This time I used a sheet cake pan because I didn't have anything else.
Look at those pretty carrots!
In the same pan, reduce the heat, warm a little olive oil and add the garlic. Add a small amount, about 1/4 cup of the chopped tomatoes.
Throw in the spices.
And stir them into the tomatoes and garlic.
Next add the drained can of chick peas...
...the tomatoes and the vegetable stock. Stir and bring the whole thing to the boil.
Pour all the liquids over the vegetables in the oven dish.
Don't forget the cinnamon stick!

Cover tightly with aluminum foil and put it in the oven also.

Now it's pretty much a waiting game. You should leave everything in the oven for at least 2 hours. I left everything in for 4 or 5 hours. But the wait is soooo worth it.
Here is the lamb after 1 hour. Kind of sad looking, but you can tell it's getting tender.
Now after the full 4 hours, the meat is sliding off the bone, it's juicy and tender. Perfect.
In the meantime, make the cous cous. I have the kind where to make it you just pour boiling water over and let it sit under plastic wrap for 5 minutes.
Then you sort of fluff it up with a fork.
I like to throw some raisins over the cous cous, then put some meat next to it, and pour over the oniony sauce.

It's so good!

And I don't have any pictures of the veggie version, because I forgot, but it looks pretty much the same. Use your imaginations.

Bon apetit!