Spiced couscous salad with raisins (226 calories per serve)

When my little brother tried couscous for the first time, he described it as “small rice” because that was what it looked like. This recipe is inspired from George, Lewis, and Pickford’s 15-Minute Feasts but I’ve made it a little bit more complex to bring out the flavours a bit more.

The rule with couscous is roughly a ratio of 1:1 so if you have 1 cup of couscous, you will need about 1 cup of water/stock. The ratio is a little higher if you add in the spices and the raisins.

Serves 6-8

Prep time 15 mins

Standing time 10 mins

Ingredients

250g instant couscous, wholemeal preferred
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tbsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
1/2 bunch mint, chopped
1/2 bunch parsley, chopped
250ml chicken stock (or vegetable stock for a vegetarian version)
150ml orange juice
2 tomatoes, diced
40g raisins (optional, I found out my middle brother didn’t like raisins)

Heat up the oil in a pan and add the ground cinnamon, coriander powder, and cumin powder. Add the couscous to the pan, stirring frequently until it becomes fragrant and the couscous is slightly browned/toasted and remove from the heat.

Meanwhile, mix the the chicken stock and orange juice together into another saucepan and bring to the boil.

Stir in the couscous to the saucepan with the chicken stock and orange juice. Cover and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Fluff up the couscous with a fork, making sure to break up any lumps. Add the tomatoes, raisins, parsley, mint, and garlic. Season with some salt and serve as a side.

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