Ah the make-ahead lunch, how I love thee. I’ve not stayed in the same place for more than 3 weeks at a time since March, which plays havoc with food shopping, so lunches you can prep in bulk and in advance have been instrumental in keeping me away from bacon and cheese paninis. It’s mostly worked. And when it hasn’t, well, I can comfort myself with the fact I’ve learnt to do pretty decent eyeliner flicks on a moving train and now know platform 4 of Lancaster station like the back of my hand.
The second important thing? Those lunches being made up of things that you can keep in a cupboard until you need them and won’t spoil.
Enter Moroccan-inspired cous cous. I actually tried this for the first time when I spotted a reduced portion in M&S and decided to recreate it at home. Slim risk of the ingredients spoiling, easy to make in bulk, and interesting enough in flavour that you won’t get bored after the first day. Job’s a good’un.
Ingredients
1 cup (about 200g) dry cous cous
Knob of butter
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped
1 tin chickpeas, drained and washed
60g raisins
60g dried apricots, chopped
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 ts baharat
Sprinkle of garlic granules
1 orange
Salt and pepper
Honey
Method
- Prepare the cous cous by pouring 1 cup of just-boiled water over the dry cous cous, cover, and allow to swell for around 5 minutes.
- Mix the butter through the cous cous, then add the chickpeas, raisins, apricots, and spices.
- When it comes to squeezing orange juice over the cous cous and adding salt, pepper, and honey, it’s a matter of personal taste! Add and keep tasting until you’re happy.
- Bask in the glory of a lazy-girl lunch.