Moroccan-style vegetable soup

Yield: 8 Servings

Ingredients:

2 tb Safflower oil
2 lg Onions chopped
2 md Potatoes scrubbed and cut -into 3/4" chunks
2 c Raw pumpkin or butternut -squash peeled and cut into -3/4" chunks
2 lg Carrots coarsely chopped
1 cn Plum tomatoes with liquid -chopped (14 oz)
2 ts Ground cumin
3/4 ts Turmeric
2 c Chick peas

Instructions:

canned or -well-cooked Salt to taste Fresh ground pepper to taste 1 c Whole grain couscous -(presteamed cracked -semolina) Heat the oil in a large soup pot. Add the onions and saute over moderate heat until golden. Add the potatoes pumpkin or squash carrots tomatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil then add the seasonings and simmer over low heat covered for approximately 45 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Add the chick peas and season to taste with salt and pepper. Simmer over very low heat for another 15 minutes. In the meantime place the couscous in an oven-proof bowl. Cover with two cups of boiling water then cover the bowl and let stand for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Place a small amount of the couscous in each soup bowl then ladle the soup over it. Serve at once.