Berkoukes

The semolina is rolled into pellets the size of peppercorns, several times larger than couscous.

Lamb. Not vegetarian — contains lamb.

Ingredients

the pellets

• 400 g coarse semolina
• 100 g fine semolina
• warm salted water, to roll

the pot

• 500 g lamb shoulder, in cubes
• 2 onions, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato purée
• 400 g chopped tomatoes
• 200 g chickpeas, cooked
• 2 carrots, diced
• 1 courgette, diced
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon harissa
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1.6 litres water
• a handful of coriander, chopped
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. THE SEMOLINA IS ROLLED INTO PELLETS THE SIZE OF PEPPERCORNS, several times larger than couscous. That size is the dish. Coarse semolina is sprinkled with salted water a little at a time and rolled between the palms, or rubbed in circles in a wide shallow bowl, until it clumps into irregular balls two or three millimetres across -- then dusted with fine semolina so they stay separate. At that size they take twenty-five minutes to cook rather than ten, they hold their shape in a wet stew, and they eat like a small pasta rather than a grain. Rolled to couscous size they disappear into the broth.
2. THEY ARE DUSTED WITH FINE SEMOLINA AFTER ROLLING. A handful tossed through. Freshly rolled pellets are damp and will fuse into lumps within minutes; the dry fine semolina coats them and keeps them individual.
3. THE WATER GOES ON A LITTLE AT A TIME AND IS SALTED. Sprinkled with the fingers, never poured. Too much at once gives dough rather than pellets, and dough cannot be rolled back into grains.
4. THEY ARE DRIED BEFORE COOKING OR STORING. Spread on a tray for an hour, or a full day if they are to be kept. Damp pellets added to a pot dissolve at the edges and cloud it.
5. THEY ARE COOKED IN THE POT, NOT STEAMED ABOVE IT. Added straight into the simmering stew for the last twenty-five minutes. This is where berkoukes differs from the steamed couscous dishes: the pellets absorb the broth and thicken it, so the finished dish is somewhere between a stew and a soup.
6. IT IS STIRRED ONCE THE PELLETS ARE IN. They sink and catch. Every few minutes for that last stretch, scraping the base.
7. THE LIQUID IS GENEROUS BECAUSE THEY DRINK IT. One point six litres. They swell considerably and the pot tightens fast; it is topped up with hot water if it stops being spoonable.
8. The coarse semolina put in a wide shallow bowl and warm salted water SPRINKLED on A LITTLE AT A TIME while rubbing in circles with the palm.
9. Rolled until it clumps into irregular PELLETS 2 to 3 mm across.
10. TOSSED with the fine semolina so they stay separate, and spread on a tray to DRY 1 HOUR.
11. The olive oil heated and the lamb browned HARD in batches. Lifted out.
12. The onions softened 8 MINUTES, the purée and HARISSA fried 2 MINUTES until darkened.
13. The tomatoes, coriander, cinnamon, lamb and water added and simmered, lid on, 1 HOUR.
14. The carrots, courgette and chickpeas added, then the PELLETS.
15. Simmered 25 MINUTES, STIRRING every few minutes and scraping the base. Topped up with hot water if it tightens.
16. The fresh coriander stirred in off the heat.
17. TESTED: the pellets should be separate and still have a slight bite. A uniform porridge means they were rolled too small or cooked too long.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Tunisia · All recipes