I seriously love couscous, it was one of the first things I really started to experiment with in my early days of veggie hood and is still one of my favourite things to eat. Traditionally served as a side dish, I find it makes a wonderfully filling and satisfying vegetarian main meal with the simple addition of a few tasty ingredients. And it is so quick and easy to prepare, which makes it perfect for a tasty meal after work.

For this vegetarian sausage couscous recipe I have added pieces of fried vegetarian sausage, chickpeas, roasted almonds, dried apricots and plenty of spices; the result is a tasty vegan dish with lots of flavour and texture. And I’m loving the beautiful orange and yellow colours of this dish, perfect for all of you lucky ones enjoying beautiful fall weather in the northern hemisphere.

You could try making up a batch of the seitan sausages with similar spices or to save time use your favourite store-brought vegetarian sausages in this recipe. Would work well with a side of steamed green vegetables or as we served it, with thick slices of dark rye spread with hummus, so good!

Vegetarian Sausage Couscous w/ Almonds & Apricots
Preparation time: 25mins // Serves 4

• 1½ cups couscous
• 2 cups warm vegetable stock
• 300g (10½ oz) vegan or vegetarian sausages
• 3 tbs olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp paprika
• ½ tsp cardamom
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 cups chickpeas (cooked or tinned)
• ¼ cup dry roasted almonds, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup dried apricots, diced
• ¼ cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zest & juice

Place the couscous in a large heat proof bowl and pour over 1½ cups of the warm stock, cover and set aside for 5 minutes. Once the liquid has been absorbed, fluff the couscous with a fork to separate and set aside.

Cook the sausages in a heavy based frypan until crisp and golden, remove from the heat and slice diagonally, set aside.

In the same pan heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over a medium heat, add the spices and cook gently for 1 minute until fragrant and a smooth paste forms, add the garlic and fry gently for a further minute.

Add the chickpeas and a splash or two of the remaining stock, cook off the liquid over a medium heat for 2-3 minutes before adding the sliced sausage, almonds and apricot. Toss to combine and remove from the heat before stirring through the parsley and zest from one lemon.

Combine the sausage and chickpea mixture with the prepared couscous, dress with the juice of 1 lemon and remaining two tablespoons of olive oil, season with ground sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste and toss well.

Serve warm with a side of steamed green vegetables and/or with rye bread and hummus.