Spicy merguez & couscous pot

3 of 5-a-day autumn fibre lunch lunchbox packed lunch vitamin c

N/A

Source

Ingredients

drizzle of olive oil

4 merguez sausages (about 250g/9oz)

½ preserved lemon , peel only, chopped

1 red onion , chopped

1 fat red chilli , deseeded and finely chopped

1 red pepper , deseeded and chopped

1 tbsp ras el hanout

400g can chopped tomatoes with olives

1 chicken stock cube

handful of coriander , finely chopped

100g couscous

Method

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.

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.

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.

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.