Greek-style couscous salad with melt-in-the-mouth chorizo & peppers.

A fresh, summery dish with some serious flavours behind it — at only 61p per portion, it’s great for a packed lunch or perfect for a picnic!

Perhaps you can tell by the name, but Jamie Oliver’s original recipe that this dish stems from, ‘Chorizo & Squid with Greek-style Couscous Salad‘, contains one pertinent ingredient that I’m lacking… I’ve only grown to like seafood in the last few years, after I was served a beautiful plate of salmon at a dinner party and was too polite to turn it down! But, this time, squid just seemed a little too much for me while I’m still getting used to those fishy textures & flavours, so I missed it out completely. Maybe next time when I’m feeling a bit braver, although I’ll have to experiment with how well it would keep over the week for lunch…

Even without the squid, this recipe really packs a punch! The couscous salad is wonderfully light, fresh, and summery (I immediately pictured it being a hit at a picnic on a swelteringly hot day), but then the earthy, salty, sweet & spicy burst of flavours from the chorizo, peppers, olives, & feta combo kicks in to lift the plate above & beyond… And then the harissa comes in, rounding it all off with its smoky undertones. Glorious!

Prep time: 10 mins | Cook time: 10 mins | Servings: 6

Essential kit: blender/food processor

Cost? I paid £0.61 per serving

Thinly slice 150g chorizo and 2 peppers

« ‹ of 11 › »

Full Instructions

Make the couscous

3 spring onions (root end cut off & chopped into 3 or 4 pieces); 150g spinach; ¾ of a large handful mint leaves (save the rest for garnish each day); salt & pepper; 1 mugful/200g couscous; 2 mugfuls of boiling water

1. Boil a kettle with about 500ml water in
2. Add spring onions to a food processor with the spinach, mint leaves, and salt & pepper and blitz until finely chopped
3. Remove the blade and add couscous & water
   *tip* whatever you measure the couscous in, you want twice as much water, so just a 1:2 ratio
4. Stir it all round, put the lid back on the food processor, and leave it to absorb

Cook the chorizo mix:

oil; 150g chorizo (thinly sliced); 2 peppers (deseeded and thinly sliced); 1 tbsp honey; 12–15 olives (halved); 2 garlic cloves (crushed or finely chop)

1. Put a dash of oil into a large frying pan or skillet (like mine — see pictures) on a medium heat
2. When hot, add the chorizo and peppers and cook for 5 minutes until the peppers soften nicely and the chorizo releases its oil
3. Add honey to the pan and stir through for 1 minute
4. Add the olives & garlic and cook for a few more minutes before removing from the heat
5. Transfer the mix to a tub, including all the chorizo oil, and, when cool, put in the fridge until needed

Finish the couscous & prep the final ingredients:

juice of ½ a lemon; 50g feta (choped into small pieces); 4 tbsp yoghurt; 1 tsp harissa

1. Fluff the couscous mix with a fork and add the lemon juice
2. Transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film, and pop in the fridge until needed
3. Transfer the chopped feta to a tub and leave in the fridge until needed
4. Add the yoghurt to a small bowl and ripple the harissa through it before covering with cling film and putting in the fridge until needed

In the morning:

remaining mint leaves (roughly torn up)

1. Decant a portion of the couscous to a tub or lunch box and spoon a portion of the chorizo mix on top
2. Sprinkle some feta pieces and mint leaves over the top
3. Drizzle over the yoghurt & harissa mix
4. Take to work and enjoy!

*hot option* leave the yoghurt & harissa separate when you take it to work; put the couscous and chorizo mix in the microwave for about 2 minutes; once hot, finish with a drizzle of the yoghurt & harissa

Print Pin

Zingy Chorizo Couscous

Melt-in-the-mouth chorizo & peppers with a Greek-style summer couscous salad – great for a PACKEDlunch or perfect for a picnic! *From The Hungry Hungry Husband and Jamie Oliver*

Course Lunch

Cuisine Greek

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 194kcal

Cost 61p per serving

Equipment

• blender/food processor

Ingredients

• 200 g couscous 1 mugful
• 150 g chorizo thinly sliced
• 2 peppers (any colour) deseeded and thinly sliced
• 3 spring onions root end cut off and chopped into 3 or 4 pieces
• 150 g spinach
• 12 black olives halved
• 2 garlic cloves finely chopped or crushed
• 1 lemon juice of
• large handful fresh mint
• 50 g feta chopped into small pieces
• 4 tablespoons natural yoghurt plain, Greek, fat-free or full-fat, whatever you fancy
• just a dash oil for frying
• 1 tablespoon runny honey
• 1 heaped teaspoon harissa
• salt & pepper for seasoning

Instructions

Make the couscous

• Add spring onions to a food processor with spinach, ¾ of the mint (save the rest for garnish each day), and salt & pepper and blitz until finely chopped
• Remove the blade, add the couscous and then twice as much water, i.e. a 1:2 ratio, couscous:water
• Stir it all round, put the lid back on the food processor, and leave it to absorb

Cook the chorizo mix:

• Put a dash of oil into a large frying pan or skillet on a medium heat and, when hot, add the chorizo & peppers and cook for 5 minutes until the peppers soften nicely and the chorizo releases its oil
• Add the honey and stir through for 1 minute before adding the olives & garlic and cooking for a few more minutes, then remove from the heat
• Transfer the mix to a tub, including all the chorizo oil, and, when cool, put in the fridge until needed

Finish the couscous & prep the final ingredients::

• Fluff the couscous mix with a fork, add the juice of ½ the lemon then transfer to a bowl, cover with cling film, and pop in the fridge until needed
• Transfer the chopped feta to a tub and leave in the fridge until needed
• Add yoghurt to a small bowl and then ripple harissa through it; cover with cling film and put in the fridge until needed

In the morning:

• Decant a portion of the couscous to a tub or lunch box and spoon a portion of the chorizo mix on top
• Sprinkle some feta pieces and some of the remaining torn up mint leaves on top before drizzling over the yoghurt & harissa mix

Notes

*hot option* leave the yoghurt & harissa separate when you take it to work; put the couscous and chorizo mix in the microwave for about 2 minutes; once hot, finish with a drizzle of the yoghurt & harissa

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save

Save