Harissa prawns with chickpeas and lemon couscous

Your spice cupboard is the best way to travel in your kitchen - and here, we're heading for Tunisian flavours of smoky, spicy harissa prawns with chickpeas. It's a great quick dinner.

Credit: Mary Makes It Easy

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  15 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

Ingredients

Couscous

• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 thin slices lemon
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups (500 ml) boiling water or low sodium chicken stock
• 1¾ cups (265 g) couscous

Prawns

• 3 tsp (15 ml) olive oil
• 1 red onion, large dice
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 (340 ml) jar roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped
• 1½-2 tbsp (30–40 ml), or to taste, prepared harissa paste (see Note)
• 1 (540 ml) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 lemon, quartered
• 400 g raw prawns (shrimp), peeled or zipper back
• 1 handful mint leaves, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. For the couscous, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and lemon slices and season with salt and pepper. Cook for about 1 to 2 minutes or until the garlic is softened and the pith of the lemon peel looks a little translucent.  Transfer into a large, heatproof bowl with the boiling water or broth and couscous. Stir and cover with a plate for 5 to 10 minutes.
2. Return the skillet to medium heat. Add the oil and onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onion softens and begins to turn lightly golden, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Stir in roasted peppers, harissa and chickpeas. Season with more salt, if needed, and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

3. Make a space on the bottom of the pan and add in the quartered lemon, cut side down, and cook until lightly golden then remove and reserve for serving.

4. Stir in prawns and cover. Cook until pink and cooked through, about 2 minutes. Meanwhile, uncover the couscous and fluff with a fork.
5. Scatter the mint over the prawns and chickpeas and serve on top of the couscous with the lemon on the side.

Note

• Harissa paste can be found in many supermarkets, most specialty stores, or online. If you can only find a dry harissa spice blend, simply mix the dry spice with a glug of olive oil into a thick consistency.

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.