Sweet Chilli Couscous with Feta

♬ '21' by Adele

While walking to the RSPCA shop to donate clothes that have started to look too young on me, I heard Adele's voice booming 'set fire to the rain' in a passing car. An album I play a lot and enjoy listening to 'rumour has it', as it's a bit more punchy and upbeat when I'm standing waiting for onions to soften! Lunch was going to be a Moroccan style couscous from Marks and Spencer's but instead thought 'I'm all about home cooking, so let's try to recreate this!' And so I did! How pretty and spectacular does it look. Couscous has a danger of tasting like nothing, so in this recipe I have gone a bit wild with spices and they all work very well together to give this grainy staple a kiss of colour. One ingredient I had to fish for were raisins, I had to have them in this dish to add a juicy and plump sweetness. Seriously my love for raisins is nearly over taking ketchup. 

An easy versatile side or main salad that compliments chicken and fish, and would be perfect for lunch the next day!


Try it and taste for yourself...

 ▶ Recipe to feed 4.

Ingredients:

500g couscous

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp oregano

1 tsp ground cumin powder

half tsp fenugreek seeds
1 small onion finely diced.

1 garlic clove crushed.

Olive oil

Half a tsp of grated ginger.

Fresh coriander

1 lemon

Feta cheese
Sundried tomatoes in olive oil.
50g raisins or jumbo sized even better!
5 dried apricots chopped in half.

The list may look long but most of these were cupboard staples!

Method:

: Boil the kettle with enough water to pour over couscous, once boiled make sure you cover cous cous and leave half a cm of water on top, put a lid on and leave it on it's own. No need for the hob at all.

: Meanwhile in a separate pot, add a dash of olive oil, and fry the fenugreek seeds until fragrant, then tip in the garlic, onions and ginger. Stir until soft.

: Time for couscous to go in, run a fork through it so it separates well. The water should have been absorbed.

: Chop and add 6 sundried tomatoes that are still covered in olive oil.

: Stir in powders and squeeze half of lemon, then use a slight bit of zest.

: Add finely chopped coriander (up to you on the amount), I used a small handful.

: Include the raisins, apricots and oregano: drizzle a bit more olive oil.

: Let it cook, and stir slowly for about 3 more minutes.

: Serve with cubed feta cheese, slowly stir this through and garnish with more coriander.

Don't be tempted with salt, the flavours in this do it justice, trust me.

DONE!

Favourite Song:

ê 'Rumour has it'