Spicy merguez & couscous pot
Pack up this spicy sausage stew as part of a hearty lunch - simply heat in the microwave for a filling midday meal
- drizzle of olive oil
- 4 merguez sausages(about 250g/9oz)
- ½ preserved lemonpeel only, chopped
- 1 red onionchopped
- 1 fat red chillideseeded and finely chopped
- 1 red pepperdeseeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp ras el hanout
- 400g can chopped tomatoeswith olives
- 1 chicken stock cube
- handful of corianderfinely chopped
- 100g couscous
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal552
- fat26g
- saturates10g
- carbs49g
- sugars16g
- fibre7g
- protein27g
- salt3.9g
Method
step 1
Heat the oil in a pan. Squeeze the sausagemeat from the skins and shape into 8 meatballs. Add them to the pan and sizzle on a medium-high heat for 5-10 mins, rolling around the pan, until they are cooked. Set aside.
step 2
Drain the fat from the pan, leaving 1 tbsp behind. Reduce the heat and add the lemon, onion, chilli and pepper. Stir for 5 mins. Add the ras el hanout and stir for 1 min more.
step 3
Add the tomatoes and 300ml water, and crumble in the stock cube. Return the meatballs to the pan and simmer, covered with a lid, for 10-15 mins, until the sauce is rich and the veg are tender. Season and stir in the coriander. Transfer to 2 microwavable containers with tight-fitting lids, and chill until you’re ready to eat. Weigh 50g couscous into 2 sandwich bags to take to work too.
step 4
When you’re ready to eat, add the couscous to the cold sauce. Stir well and microwave for 3 mins, until the couscous is cooked through.