Beautiful and easy-to-make, this gilded Moroccan tabouli couscous recipe with harissa-spiced chickpeas is one of those rare dynamic side dishes that brims with vibrancy, freshness, and a ton of flavor.
Couscous Recipe: Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to create this delicious Moroccan-inspired couscous recipe.
- Golden Couscous (I used Trikona Moroccan Couscous, but Bob’s Red Mill works too!)
- Nutritional yeast
- Ground turmeric
- Red bell pepper
- Red onion
- Fresh parsley
- Lemon juice
- Ras el hanout
- Chili powder
- 15-ounce can chickpeas
- Mild or spicy harissa powder
How To Cook Couscous
Couscous is definitely one of the easiest pastas to make. It’s small and pebbly, and so it cooks rather briskly.
1. Boil 2 cups of water (or according to package instructions) in a medium pot.
2. Add olive oil, salt and ground black pepper to the water, for seasoning.
3. Once boiling, whisk in the golden couscous, and then remove it from the heat. Cover the couscous with the pot lid, and let it steam for about 5 minutes.
Voilà! All you have to do now is fluff it with a fork, and you’ve got yourself some perfect couscous for an even more perfect vegan couscous recipe.
How To Make Quick Harissa Chickpeas
Toasting chickpeas in a cast-iron for your salads or side dishes is such a simple but effective way of imparting a lot of creaminess, body and plant-based protein very quickly.
- Firstly, it’s important if you’re using canned chickpeas to drain them, wash them, and rinse them thoroughly, as well as dry them a bit so they aren’t overly wet when going into the cast-iron.
- Then, in a cast-iron pan over medium heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, toast the chickpeas for about 5 minutes, until creamy and a bit softer. You can add the harissa powder from the start, too.
Harissa powder is an excellent pairing for chickpeas – it’s slightly spicy, beautifully maroon, and brings with it another dynamic flavor to this couscous recipe.
Looking for more couscous recipes?
Couscous is one of my favorite pastas to use. It’s unassuming and fairly neutral in taste, but it makes a great base for veggies or other proteins to take centerstage, as well as a blank canva for spices, too.
For example, check out this Roasted Beet Bowl, where the beets rest on a bed of turmeric couscous, similar to the one you see here.
Or, check out this Lemony Tofu Couscous Salad – an earlier recipe in my index, but a tasty one all the same!
I hope that you enjoyed this vegan couscous recipe. If you did, consider leaving me a comment and recipe rating before you go!
Moroccan Couscous Tabouli with Quick Harissa Chickpeas
Ingredients
For the Moroccan Couscous
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Some salt and ground black pepper
- 2 cups Moroccan couscous, this should yield about 4 cups cooked couscous total
For the Tabouli
- 3 – 3 ½ cups cooked Moroccan couscous, add the extra ½ cup if you think the tabouli needs more couscous body to it
- 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 red bell pepper, finely diced
- ½ red onion, finely diced
- ½ cup roughly chopped parsley
- 6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 – 1 ½ teaspoon(s) ras el hanout
- ½ – 1 teaspoon chili powder
For the Quick Harissa Chickpeas
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
- 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
- 2 ½ – 3 teaspoons mild or spicy harissa powder
Instructions
- Begin by boiling water in a medium pot. Once boiling, add the olive oil, salt and pepper, and then whisk in the Moroccan couscous. Then, remove the couscous from the heat, cover with a lid, and let it steam for 5 minutes.
- Next, transfer about 3 cups of the cooked couscous to a large mixing bowl, along with the nutritional yeast and ground turmeric. Stir to incorporate those two fully into the couscous. Then you can add the red bell pepper, red onion, parsley, lemon juice, ras el hanout, and chili powder. Mix this well until everything is coated in lemon juice and spices. Also, if you really want your tabouli to have a spicy kick, consider adding the full amount of ras el hanout or chili powder (1 ½ teaspoons and 1 teaspoon, respectively).
- Lastly, in a cast-iron pan over medium heat with 1 teaspoon of olive oil, toast a can of drained, rinsed and dried chickpeas sprinkled with harissa powder for about 5 minutes, until creamy. Transfer these chickpeas to the couscous tabouli, and mix well to incorporate. Serve the couscous tabouli on its own or atop greens right away, or refrigerate in a tight-fitting container for several days.
Nutrition
May you have good food in good company,
That Vegan Nephew
This delicious Couscous recipe was wonderful topping off a green salad with just a little dressing and fresh tomatoes. YUM.