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Aslooz is a special dish in Libya that you can only enjoy its best flavor in spring or summer. Cheap and Cheerful are the best words to introduce this lovely meal.
This dish is a family dish that you can enjoy with your beloved one after a hard-working week. Couscous and Aslooz are flavored with a special carrot sauce that usually has a piquant flavor from chili pepper.
What is Aslooz?
Aslooz is a popular Libyan dish, especially in the west region of the country. It Is a vegetarian (and vegan!) dish that consists of steamed couscous, a tomato-based sauce, and the aslooz plant.
The dish is called ‘Aslooz’; this is also the name of a seasonal plant in Libya that has a unique flavor.
You can find this plan almost everywhere in the countryside or the mountain area of Libya. The plant is harvested during January and February, and people pair this plant with Couscous for an extraordinary flavor.
The Aslooz weed grows wild and is not a cultivated farm crop; it can be picked off the side road in the countryside or the mountains.
Since it has a short growing season between January and February and apparently, it is not available in America and European countries.
You could enjoy Couscous Aslooz at any time of year and anywhere by using other similar weeds, for instance, you could use carrots and cumin leaves, or If you are a resident of Europe you could try asparagus or broccoli that will give you similar results.
Aslooz Recipe
This recipe is considered a perfect family food that was meant to be prepared, cooked, and served with the family.
For preparing the meal we use only the tender twigs and the flowery branches, after washing them several times and chopping them firmly.
It is placed in a steamer with a pinch of salt and steamed for a while before adding the Couscous on top of it and steamed again until the twigs are nicely cooked and tender.
To prepare the carrot sauce, boil the carrots in the water under the steamer while cooking the Couscous, and then mash them and season them with a generous quantity of lemon juice, garlic, spherical, Asperger, tomato paste, and chili pepper to give it a spicy twist.
Lower your ingredients from the heat and just bring them together and mix, leaving some of the sauce for topping and decoration.
Be Sure to Try These Other Libyan Dishes!
Be sure to recreate this incredible delicacy. Enjoy!
Aslooz
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups couscous
- 1 bunch asparagus spears
- 1 bunch fresh dill
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 14 oz can crushed tomatoes or diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon tomato paste
- 1 1/2 cup water
- 1 tablespoon paprika sweet, not smoked
- 1 teaspoon Libyan bzaar spice mix if you don’t have any, use Arabic 7-spice and a pinch of turmeric
- cayenne pepper to taste
- black pepper to taste
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt adjust to taste
Instructions
- First, dice the onions and crush the garlic. In a medium saucepan, sautee the onions and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat for a few minutes. Then add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, water and spices.
- Allow this to simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. If it is splattering all over your stove, you can place a lid on the pot at slight angle which will allow the steam to escape as it simmers.
- Pull out your steamer pot (it should consist of a base pot, a steamer pot that fits on top and a lid…a basket-type steamer will not work for this) and fill the base pot halfway with water. Place it on the stove to heat the water to a boil. As you are waiting for the water to heat up, wash and trim the asparagus stems. Then chop the asparagus into 1/2-inch pieces.
- In a bowl, mix the dry couscous with 1/4 cup water. It will clump initially, but just keep mixing and breaking up the clumps.
- In the steamer portion of the pot, distribute the chopped asparagus across the bottom…be sure to cover all the little holes of the steamer with the asparagus. Then spread the couscous over the asparagus.
- Place the steamer pot over the water pot that should be boiling by now, cover with the lid and reduce the heat to medium. Set a timer for 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes have elapsed, you will need to carefully remove the lid (Caution: Hot steam will release, so be very careful!). Using a spoon or a spatula, gently mix together the asparagus and couscous.
- Replace the lid and set your timer for 15 minutes. Give the tomato sauce a stir, add water if needed. The tomato sauce should have a slightly thick consistency, but it should be little thinner than a marinara sauce. Next, wash and finely chop the dill.
- When your 15 minute timer goes off, remove the lid of the steamer (very carefully!) and give the couscous a taste using a small spoon. It will be hot, so let it cool on your spoon for a few seconds and maybe even blow on it to cool it off before tasting. If it is soft, the couscous is ready! If it still has a little bite to it, allow it to steam for a few more minutes. Once the couscous is ready, carefully transfer it from the steamer to your serving dish. Stir in the chopped dill.
- Taste the salt-level of your tomato sauce, adjust as needed. The salt in your tomato sauce is very important as it will be seasoning your couscous. Once the tomato sauce salt level is ready and the sauce consistency is good (slightly thinner than a marinara sauce!), remove it from the heat and take a few spoonful's of the sauce and mix them into the couscous. Your couscous should be slightly orange now, otherwise add more sauce.
- Next, smooth the top of the couscous with the back of the spoon. Spoon the remainder of the tomato sauce over the top of the couscous and do your best to evenly distribute it across the entire surface. And the Aslooz is ready! If you are feeling fancy, garnish with some flatleaf parsley. Serve it with a Mediterranean-style salad of tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, peppers, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.
