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.