Couscous With Chicken, Lamb in Vegetables

Ingredients

1 ½ pounds leeks, trimmed
1 ¼ pounds celery ribs, trimmed
3 or 4 large carrots, about 1 1/2 pounds, trimmed and scraped
3 white turnips, about 1 1/4 pounds, peeled
1 large onion, about 1 pound, peeled
1 eggplant, about 1 pound
1 zucchini, about 1 pound
2 sweet peppers, preferably 1 red and 1 green, each weighing about 1/3 pound
1 acorn squash, about 1 pound
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt to taste, if desired
Freshly ground pepper to taste
3 ½ pounds lean shoulder of lamb cut into 1 1/2-inch cubes
3 quarts lamb broth (see recipe)
1 cut-up roast chicken for couscous (see recipe)
12 lamb meatballs (see recipe)
2 cups freshly cooked or canned chickpeas
Couscous (see recipe for preparation of the couscous cereal)
Harissa (see recipe)

10 to 12 servings

Preparation

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and wash well. Drain well. Cut the leeks crosswise into one-and-one-half-inch lengths. There should be almost five cups.
Cut the celery ribs crosswise into pieces the same size as the leeks. There should be almost five cups.
Cut the carrots in half lengthwise. Cut the carrots crosswise into one-inch lengths. There should be about four cups.
Cut the turnips lengthwise into one-inch slices. Stack the slices and cut them into one-inch cubes. There should be about three and one-half cups.
Cut the onion in a similar fashion as the turnips. There should be about three and one-half cups.
Trim off the ends of the eggplant and zucchini. Do not peel. Cut the eggplant and zucchini in half lengthwise. Cut both vegetables into one-and-one-half-inch lengths. There should be about six cups of eggplant and three cups of zucchini.
Remove the core from the peppers. Split each in half, and remove the white veins and the seeds. Cut the peppers into one-inch cubes. There should be about three cups.
Split the acorn squash in half. Scrape out the fibers and seeds from the center. Cut away the stem. Cut the unskinned vegetable into one-inch cubes. There should be about four cups.
Heat a large skillet and add the oil. When it is quite hot, add the lamb, sprinkling with salt and pepper, and cook, turning the pieces occasionally, about 10 minutes.
Put the lamb into a large kettle and add the lamb broth. Bring to the boil and cook about 50 minutes.
Put the leeks, celery, carrots, turnips and onion in a second kettle. Strain all the lamb broth over this. Let the cubed lamb remain in the first kettle. Bring the broth and vegetable mixture to the boil.
Cook over moderately high heat about 15 minutes. Add the remaining vegetables and the roast chicken. Cover and let cook about eight minutes.
Add the cubed lamb, meatballs and chickpeas to the stew, and continue cooking five minutes.
Ideally, when ready to serve, one should remove the meats (chicken pieces, meatballs, lamb cubes) from the stew. Spoon an equal portion of the hot couscous cereal into warm soup plates. Spoon an equal portion of the meats and vegetables onto each serving. To use the harissa, spoon some of the hot sauce into a small bowl and add a ladle of soup onto it. Blend. Add the harissa according to individual taste.

2 hours