Harissa beef and couscous
Smoky, spicy harissa beef with chickpeas and sweet raisins, stirred into fluffy couscous right in the skillet for a 30-minute North African dinner.
- 30 min total
- 20 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 4
- About $3.28 a serving
- 620 calories
- Good the next day
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 30 minutes.
Ingredients
For 4 servings.
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 lb 85/15 ground beef
- 2 tbsp harissa
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup raisins
- 1 can beef broth
- 1 cup couscous
- 1 lemon, juiced
- ¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
- ½ cup plain Greek yogurt (optional)
From your pantry
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¾ tsp salt
Each serving has about 620 calories, 36 g protein, 66 g carbs and 24 g fat, and costs about $3.28 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No yellow onions? White onions or red onions work.
- No 85/15 ground beef? 90/10 ground beef works.
- No raisins? Dried cranberries work.
- No beef broth? Bone broth works.
- No lemons? Limes work.
- No fresh parsley? Cilantro works.
- No plain Greek yogurt? Plain yogurt or sour cream works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the onion and the garlic.
Dice. Dicing means cutting food into small, even cubes, usually a quarter to half an inch across. Pieces the same size cook at the same speed, so nothing burns while the rest catches up.
How you’ll know: Your pieces are little cubes about the size of a chickpea, and they all look close to the same.
Mince. Mincing means chopping something into the tiniest pieces you can, smaller than a grain of rice. Tiny pieces melt into the dish, so you get the flavor without biting into a chunk of garlic.
How you’ll know: Every piece is tiny and about the same size, and the pile starts to look almost like a paste.
Heat the oil in a large with a lid over medium-high and cook the beef and onion 7 to 8 minutes, breaking up the beef, until no pink is left. Spoon off the fat.
Skillet. A skillet is a frying pan: wide and flat with low, sloped sides. The shape lets steam escape, so food browns instead of stewing.
How you’ll know: It’s the pan you’d fry an egg in, and a 10 or 12 inch one handles most recipes.
Medium-high heatTimer: 7 min 30 sec
Food safety: Ground beef, pork and lamb are done at 160°F. When it’s cooked through there’s no pink left anywhere in the pan.
Stir in the garlic, harissa, tomato paste, cumin, cinnamon and salt for 1 minute.
Medium heat
Dolly’s tip: Harissa is a North African chili paste. Brands vary in heat, so start with less if you’re wary.Add the chickpeas, raisins and broth, and .
Bring to a boil. It means heating a liquid on high until it’s fully boiling before you move on. A lid on the pot gets it there faster, which makes it a good moment to chop something.
How you’ll know: Big bubbles break all over the surface, and they keep coming when you lift the lid.
High heat
Stir in the couscous, cover, and take the pan off the heat. Let it sit 5 minutes.
Timer: 5 min
Dolly’s tip: Couscous cooks by soaking up the hot broth. No simmering needed.Fluff with a fork, then stir in the lemon juice and parsley.
Serve with a spoonful of yogurt on top if you like.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
