chorizo & tomato stew with cous cous & poached egg

My favourite thing about this dish is the fact that it has cous cous in it - only because whenever I use cous cous I have an excuse to say "cous cous, so nice they named it twice". I have no idea where I heard this but it is one of my favourite food related sayings, it is right up there with "lentil as anything". Aahhh, small things amuse small minds but funny little sayings like this really make me happy.

This is one of those dishes where you can just use whatevs - if you don't have ground cumin then use curry powder - if you don't have cous cous then use rice. It is a great dish for those slap together meals when you don't feel like doing the supermarket mission.

1/2 chorizo, cut into small pieces
1/2 small brown onion, diced
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon of stock powder (any flavour)
1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon of paprika
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 a 400g can of tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
1/2 a cup of cold water
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
2 tablespoons of basil leaves, roughly shredded
1 tablespoon of natural unsweetened yoghurt
1 free range egg
1 tablespoon of vinegar
1/4 cup of cous cous
1/4 cup of boiling water

Start cooking the chorizo in a pot on a medium heat, if you are using a non-stick pot you won't need any oil but if it is a normal pot just use a tiny drizzle to stop the chorizo from sticking. Once the chorizo is starting to brown add the onion and garlic and continue stirring until the onion starts to turn opaque. Add the stock powder and spices, the mixture will become quite dry so keep stirring for about 30 seconds and then add 2 tablespoons of water to deglaze the pot. Now add the 1/2 can of tomatoes, cold water and the sugar, turn the heat down so that the mix is gently simmering and cook for about 15 minutes or until you reach the desired consistency for your stew.

Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the vinegar. Once boiling reduce so that the water is simmering. Crack the egg on to a small place, spin your the simmering water and slowly slide the egg into the water. Cook the egg for around 2 minutes or until it is cooked to your liking. Once cooked, remove from the water with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel to drain.

In a bowl place the cous cous and the boiling water, cover with a lid, plastic wrap or plate and set aside for 5 minutes. Cous cous is so easy, all you have to remember is equal parts cous cous to equal parts boiling water.

Remove the stew from the heat and stir through half of the shredded basil and the tablespoon of yoghurt. Serve the stew straight on top of the cous cous that should now be ready, place the poached egg on top of the stew and sprinkle the remaining basil leaves over the top. Add a good crack of salt and pepper and you are done.