Tuna Couscous

Warning. This is delicious. I have made this Tuna Couscous recipe easy-as and all you need to remember is ‘a cup’.

A cup of this, a cup of that….well, except for the final flavours. Perhaps you need to pay attention after all!

Tuna Steaks: You may have never considered tuna (fresh tuna) before due to it’s price. You may be pleasantly surprised however. New Zealand Yellow Fin tuna can come in well below the cost of fresh salmon, and you only need a little to go a long way.  Most fish counters should sell this in your local supermarket, if not – PAKnSAVE has fresh tuna regularly..if not in the fish bar area, check out the chiller beside it (as they will often pre-pack fillets). Sear in a hot pan to your liking – some like it pink in the middle, others like it well-cooked. A little tuna steak goes a long way so one large steak is enough for this dish as it will be sliced up thinly.

Couscous: By itself, it is bland. The ingredients you add, and the juicy flavouring, is essential as the couscous will soak up the deliciousness and reward you spoonful by spoonful when it comes to mealtime. Couscous doesn’t need cooking, rather ‘soaking’ in boiling hot water for a few minutes, then it’s ready to be infused with flavour and devoured.

Dressing: You can absolutely have a field-day here. If you know your spices, go wild. Pick a homemade vinaigrette of your choosing! A Herb & Caper Vinaigrette (as I’ve done for this recipe) or anything with miso and ginger works a treat.

Tuna Couscous

Prep time: 15 mins
Cooking time: 10 mins

Ingredients

• 1 cup couscous
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1 cup shredded baby chard (spinach or silverbeet)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 cup corn kernels
• 1 cup black beans, drained
• 1 cup chopped parsley, loosely packed
• 1 cup cubed feta (approx 200g)
• 1/4 cup vinaigrette
• 1 large tuna steak
• 2 Tbsp oil
• sprinkle of salt
• 1 Tbsp preserved orange zest, or fresh lemon zest

Method

1. Measure couscous and pour boiling water into a bowl. Leave for 3 minutes then fluff with a fork. The water will be absorbed leaving puffed up and moist couscous ready for flavouring.
2. In a shallow frying pan, add water and allow to simmer. Add shredded chard (and finely chopped stems) to water, simmer for several minutes until wilted. Drain water, squeeze out chard. Add to couscous along with corn, black beans, parsley and feta.
3. Add vinaigrette and combine while. Allow couscous to soak in all the juices while you cook the tuna.
4. In the same frying pan, over a high heat, add oil and tuna steak whole, smearing both sizes liberally with orange zest. Sprinkle with salt and cook to your liking. For those wanting a rare steak, sear for a just few minutes on either side. Remove from heat and slice into thin, bite-sized pieces. For those wanting a medium cooked steak, cook more…or cut the whole steak into small pieces from the ‘get go’ and cook to your liking in the oil and orange zest.
5. Add tuna to the couscous.
6. Enjoy warm or cold.