Nigel Slater’s mograbia with tomato and chorizo

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2014/aug/05/nigel-slater-mograbia-with-tomato-chorizo

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The recipe

Put a large pan of deep water on to boil. Salt it generously, as you would for pasta, then add 200g of mograbia (the large pearled couscous) and boil for about 20 minutes or until it is tender. I like mine to retain a slight bite.

Thickly slice four chorizo sausages, then let them sizzle in a deep-sided frying pan for about 10 minutes until golden, tossing them round the pan so they brown evenly. Roughly chop 400g of fresh, ripe tomatoes, put them in with the chorizo, season generously with black pepper, a little salt and a couple of bay leaves, then leave them to simmer for about 15 minutes until thick and slushy.

Stir from time to time, to stop the mixture sticking.

Drain the mograbia then fold it into the tomato and chorizo. Check the seasoning and serve.

The trick

When cooking mograbia, treat it just like pasta and cook it in a deep pan of salted boiling water. Check the tenderness after about 12 minutes – though it may take as long as 20. It’s up to you how much bite you like. Always salt the water and let it come back to the boil before adding the couscous. If your tomatoes are not fully ripe, then cook them with a pinch of two of sugar.

The twist

Any small pasta will work well instead of the mograbia. If you fancy it, small gnocchi would be just about perfect. Some form of chilli seasoning would be appropriate here. You could add ground or flaked chilli to the tomatoes as they are softening, or a small, fresh chilli, finely sliced.

Email Nigel at nigel.slater@observer.co.uk. Follow Nigel on Twitter @NigelSlater