In her modern kitchen, with its sleek mauve cabinets and red-and-purple tiles, Annie Berrebi showed me how to make this landmark dish. The stew can be prepped in advance and finished with a few minutes of simmering. Annie often freezes leftover grains of cooked couscous and then pops them into the microwave before using. Unlike Moroccan Jews, who serve their food in courses as the French do, the Berrebis serve everything at once (couscous, salads, and hot sauce). During this absolutely delicious meal, Annie told me, “I miss the sun in Tunis. But I love Paris. We have made our lives here.” You can either serve the couscous, fish balls, and vegetables on different plates, as Mrs. Berrebi does, or, if you want to make a big splash, as I like to do when presenting such a grand dish, pile the couscous in a pyramid on a big serving platter, then arrange the fish balls and the vegetables around it. Ladle the broth all over, and garnish with the cilantro. Pour some extra harissa into a little bowl, and put that on the table alongside cooked salads such as carrot salad (see page 112) or a tomato salad.
Recipe information
Yield
atleast 10 servings
Ingredients
FISH BALLS
BROTH
Preparation
Step 1
To make the fish balls, grind both kinds of the fish in the bowl of an electric food processor fitted with a steel blade. Set aside in a medium bowl.
Step 2
Put the spring onions or scallions and the parsley in a strainer, and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of the salt. Let sit for about 1/2 hour, and press out the liquid. Rinse, and press again. (According to Annie, the salt helps get rid of the smell of the onion.)
Step 3
Using your hands, mix the ground fish with the spring onions and parsley and the drained bread. Sprinkle in the remaining teaspoon salt, the pepper, 1 teaspoon of the harissa, and the minced garlic. Add the eggs, and mix again. The texture should be pastelike but not mushy. If it’s too thin, add some more bread; if too thick, add a little water. Refrigerate the fish mixture for at least 1/2 hour.
Step 4
Dip your hands into cold water, then mold the fish mixture into balls a little larger than walnuts, and place them on a large plate. You should have about three dozen balls.
Step 5
Heat 1/2 inch of olive oil in a large, heavy frying pan, and sauté the fish balls until they become golden. Depending on the size of your pan, you might want to do this in two or even three batches. Remove with a slotted spoon, and drain on paper towels.
Step 6
Discard all but about 1/4 inch of the oil from the pan. Add the tomatoes, pressing them down, and the remaining garlic clove. Cook for about 5 minutes. Pour in about 2 inches of water, and stir in the tomato paste and the remaining teaspoon of harissa. Bring to a boil, and add the fish balls. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes, coating them with the sauce. Set aside.
Step 7
To make the broth, heat the oil in a soup pot. Sauté the onion and one of the minced garlic cloves until the onion is translucent. Add the tomatoes, the tomato paste, and the harissa, stir, and continue cooking over low heat. Then add the fish stock or water, salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, the leek, zucchini, potatoes, celery, and carrots. Cook for about 5 minutes, then add the squash and the chickpeas. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the squash is cooked. Remove the pot from the heat, and set aside.
Step 8
Just before the broth has finished cooking, reheat the fish balls and prepare the couscous according to the package directions (or see page 270). Follow the serving suggestions in the headnote at left.
