Recipe
🍽️ DINNER
Couscous bel Hout
Tunisian fish couscous: steamed semolina under a spicy tomato broth of fish and vegetables.
Tunisian · medium · serves 6
prep 30 min · cook 60 min
~797 cal · 55g protein · 85g carbs · 24g fat · 9g fiber · 7g sugars · 9g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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bel hout is Tunisia's fish , steamed served under a spicy tomato broth of fish, vegetables, and, of course, . In a Mediterranean country with a long coastline, seafood is a natural variation on the North African staple.
While the Maghreb shares as common heritage, Tunisia's versions lean hotter and more tomato-forward, and the fish version pairs firm white fish with vegetables like carrot, pumpkin, and chickpeas in a fiery, aromatic sauce. The grains are steamed separately until light and fluffy.
Served as a communal centerpiece in Tunis and along the coast, bel hout is both everyday and special-occasion food. It marries Tunisia's Mediterranean seafood with its Berber tradition, spiced with the that defines the national palate.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally dairy-, egg-, nut- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
3 cups
2 lb firm fish steaks
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp
1 1/2 cups chickpeas, cooked
2 turnips, quartered
2 carrot
2 potato
2 zucchini
1 onion
4 cloves garlic
1 tsp caraway
1 tsp each cumin, paprika, turmeric and ground coriander
2 tsp extra , to serve
Instructions
1
Build the broth: fry the onion, then the garlic with the caraway, cumin, paprika, turmeric and coriander for a minute, then the tomato paste and harissa, and cook it down before adding water and bringing it to a simmer.
✎ Chef’s note
Toast the ground spices in the oil for a minute before the tomato goes in, but do not let them catch. The Tunisian version of this dish is redder and hotter than the Moroccan one, and that comes from harissa and tomato paste going into the broth itself rather than being offered on the side.
2
Add the carrots and turnips first and simmer 15 minutes, then the potatoes, zucchini and chickpeas for 10 minutes more.
3
Steam the couscous over the broth (or separately), fluffing it with oil between steamings, until light.
✎ Chef’s note
Steaming the couscous over the fish broth lets it drink up the flavour. Fluff it with oiled hands between steamings for separate, tender grains.
4
Lower the heat so the broth is hot but no longer boiling, salt the fish and slip it in, and poach it 8 to 12 minutes depending on thickness.
✎ Chef’s note
Use a firm-fleshed fish: monkfish, cod or hake will hold together, while a delicate fish falls into rags and clouds the broth. And poach it in broth that is hot but not boiling, right at the end. It is the last thing into the pot, never the first.
5
Mound the couscous on a platter, top with the fish and vegetables, moisten generously with the red broth, and put a small bowl of harissa slackened with a few spoonfuls of hot broth on the table.
✎ Chef’s note
That bowl of loosened harissa is the traditional accompaniment, so everyone sets their own heat rather than the cook deciding for the table.
Tunis tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Tunis. The Tunisian egg-in-tomato dish is properly ojja: peppers and garlic fried in olive oil with harissa and caraway, tomatoes reduced down, eggs cracked in at the last moment and eaten straight from the pan with bread. Shakshuka is its gentler relative and its origins are argued across Tunisia, the Ottoman lands and Yemen, so Tunis is not where to settle that question.
🗺️
Tunisia. Harissa is not a condiment on the side but the base of the pot, and UNESCO inscribed the knowledge, skills and practices around it in 2022. Sun-dried chillies are pounded with garlic, caraway and coriander, and the paste goes into couscous broth, into stews, and straight onto bread with olive oil and tuna.
🌍
Africa. Africa's fifty-four nations hold cuisines as different as Morocco's slow-cooked tagines and South Africa's open-fire braai, yet shared threads run through them: ancient grains like millet, sorghum, and teff; stews thickened with groundnut, okra, or palm; and fiery condiments from Tunisian harissa to Ethiopian berbere. Staple starches, fufu, injera, ugali, couscous, anchor communal meals often eaten by hand from a shared dish, where hospitality is a point of honor.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Tunisia
Shakshuka bel HarissaEggs poached directly in a fiery, harissa-laced pepper and tomato sauce, eaten from the pan with bread.
LablabiChickpeas in garlicky cumin broth ladled over torn bread, hit with harissa, lemon, and a soft egg, Tunisia’s working breakfast.
BrikA crisp fried pastry parcel with a runny egg, tuna, and herbs inside, the essential Tunisian starter-lunch.
Browse all Tunisia recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Steamer.
Storing it: Soup keeps 3 to 4 days refrigerated and freezes well. Reheat gently and loosen with a little water or stock if needed.
Make it a Tunisia meal
Thé aux PignonsDrink
MakroudhDessert
BrikLunch
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Cuisine
Diet
Frequently asked questions
What is Couscous bel Hout?
Tunisian fish couscous: steamed semolina under a spicy tomato broth of fish and vegetables.
Where does Couscous bel Hout come from?
Couscous bel Hout is a Tunisian dish from Tunis, Tunisia.
Can Couscous bel Hout be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Couscous bel Hout recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Couscous bel Hout safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Couscous bel Hout take to make?
About 90 minutes total (30 minutes prep, 60 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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