If you ever find scallops cheap, buy them up. They freeze really well and you can defrost the little ones so quickly for a delicious dish like this chorizo and scallops with vegetable couscous.
Everyone knows that chorizo and scallops work well together, but rather than being the star of a starter, in this dish they make a lovely Mediterranean style meal with bright, fresh flavours. The couscous would work well on its own, and is fantastic for lunches, but the chorizo and scallops add another level with their sweet sauce.
This will serve 4 and takes about 20 minutes to make in total.
Ingredients, Substitutions and Variations
- Chorizo – for best results, use a chorizo ring. Get your favourite – spicy or mild work well here.
- Scallops – this recipes calls for small scallops because their texture and size are good with the chorizo. However, you could switch for larger scallops and serve less per person.
- Balsamic vinegar and runny honey – these form the sweet and sharp dressing for the scallops and chorizo.
- Couscous – I used standard couscous here, but you could easily use pearl couscous.
- Red bell peppers, green olives and mushrooms – these are the vegetables that make up your vegetable couscous. You could switch for different vegetables, but remember that they don’t get cooked, just heated in the residual warmth from the couscous, so pick veggies that can be eaten raw.
- Feta – the salty creaminess balances this dish nicely. You could substitute for small chunks of pan fried halloumi.
- Parsley – optional.
Top Tips
- Cooking the scallops and chorizo
Key to success here is making sure the scallops and chorizo are well cooked. The chorizo should be crisp, and needs to have released all of that lovely oil. The scallops just need a minute to take on the flavour and heat.
- Cooking the couscous
Couscous is really easy to get right – you just need to cover with twice the volume of boiling water and leave it. Make sure to season it, otherwise it will be flavourless.
- Make ahead
The vegetable couscous can be made ahead and stored in the fridge for up to three days.
Get the cook books:
Chorizo and Scallops with Vegetable Couscous
May 22, 2024Ingredients
- 150 g chorizo
- 150 g small scallops
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp runny honey
- 250 g couscous
- 2 red peppers
- 150 g green olives
- 100 g button mushrooms
- 100 g feta
- 1 large handful flat-leaf parsley
Instructions
- For the couscous, pour into a large bowl with 500ml boiling water. Sprinkle with a little salt and cover with a tea towel. Leave for 5-7 minutes until the couscous has absorbed all of the water.
- Fluff up with a fork, then add the finely chopped peppers, sliced mushrooms, olives, most of the chopped feta and most of the chopped parsley. Stir well and leave to one side.
- For the chorizo and scallops, finely slice the chorizo and put in a frying pan over a high heat. Sizzle until the oil has been released and the chorizo is crisp.
- Add the scallops and cook for another minute (depending on the size of the scallops), then stir in the balsamic vinegar and runny honey.
- To serve, pile a mound of couscous into each bowl, top with the chorizo and scallops (making sure you get plenty of the juice), then add a sprinkling of chopped parsley and crumbled feta.
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