Couscous bel Hout

Couscous bel hout — fish couscous — is the coastal Moroccan alternative to the meat-based couscous that dominates the inland tradition. In the Atlantic fishing towns, from Rabat to Essaouira to Agadir, fish heads and bones are used to make a quick, intensely flavored broth that is poured over couscous, while the fish fillets are marinated in chermoula and steamed on top of the vegetables. It is a Friday dish in coastal households, the same way meat couscous is inland, and it is lighter, faster and cheaper than the meat version. The chermoula, not ras el hanout, is the dominant spice, and the broth is pale rather than red.

The broth is clean and deeply fishy, scented with chermoula's garlic and coriander; the couscous soaks it up eagerly; the fish is soft and falls into flakes. A squeeze of lemon on top brightens everything.

The fish broth is the foundation and it is made quickly, not slowly: fish bones release their gelatin and flavor in 20-30 minutes of simmering, whereas beef or lamb bones need hours. This makes fish couscous a faster dish than the meat version. The chermoula marinade does double duty: it flavors the fish, and its garlic and coriander leach into the cooking broth, seasoning it from within. The couscous is steamed over the fish broth, so it absorbs the fish aromatics during the steaming process itself.