Microwave Mediterranean tuna couscous
Fluffy couscous with wilted spinach, flaked tuna, sun-dried tomatoes and a splash of oregano vinaigrette, a warm pantry dinner with over 30 grams of protein in ten minutes.
- 12 min total
- 6 min hands-on
- Anyone can make this
- Serves 1
- About $2.49 a serving
- 440 calories
Dolly says: I’d make this on a weeknight. It’s on the table in 12 minutes.
Ingredients
For 1 servings.
- ½ cup baby spinach
- ⅓ cup couscous
- 1 can canned tuna, 5 oz
- 1 tbsp sun-dried tomatoes
- ½ oz Kalamata olives (optional)
- ½ oz feta cheese (optional)
From your pantry
- ½ cup water
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tsp olive oil
- 1 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1 pinch dried oregano
Each serving has about 440 calories, 34 g protein, 48 g carbs and 12 g fat, and costs about $2.49 at typical US grocery prices. Both are estimates from what the recipe uses.
Missing something?
- No baby spinach? Kale or arugula works.
- No canned tuna? Canned salmon works.
- No Kalamata olives? Black olives work.
- No feta cheese? Goat cheese works.
Steps
Tap an underlined word for a quick explanation.
the water in the kettle.
Boil. Boiling means heating a liquid until big bubbles rise and break all over the surface. It’s the fastest way to cook pasta, potatoes and eggs, because it’s as hot as water gets.
How you’ll know: Bubbles are breaking across the whole surface, not just at the edges, and steam is rising.
Put the spinach in a bowl, add the couscous and salt, pour the hot water over, cover with a plate, and leave it 5 minutes so the spinach .
Wilt. Wilting means cooking leafy greens just until they go soft and collapse. Greens shrink a lot, so a big pile of spinach becomes a small handful, and that’s normal.
How you’ll know: The leaves turn soft and deep green and slump into the pan, usually within a minute or two.
Timer: 5 min
the tuna and flake it into a microwave-safe mug with the olive oil, vinegar and oregano.
Drain. Draining means pouring off liquid, like tipping pasta into a colander or spooning extra fat out of the pan. Pour hot grease into a can or jar, not the sink, where it hardens and clogs the pipes.
How you’ll know: Only a few drips are left, and the food isn’t sitting in a puddle.
Dolly’s tip: Press the lid into the open can over the sink to squeeze the water out.Food safety: Rotisserie chicken, deli meat, canned tuna and cooked shrimp are already cooked. Keep them cold until you use them, and heat them until steaming hot if the recipe warms them.
Tear the sun-dried tomatoes into small pieces and add them to the tuna.
Microwave the tuna mixture 30 seconds to warm it.
Timer: 30 sec
Fluff the couscous with the fork and the tuna, tomatoes and every drop of the oil.
Fold. Folding means mixing gently by scooping from the bottom and turning it over the top, instead of stirring hard. It keeps light mixtures airy and soft things like berries or herbs in one piece.
How you’ll know: You use slow, wide strokes and stop as soon as there are no streaks left.
Scatter the olives over, on the feta, and eat it warm.
Crumble. Crumbling means breaking food into small, rough bits with your fingers or a spoon, like feta or ground meat in the pan. Small bits spread through the dish, so there’s some in every bite.
How you’ll know: The pieces are small and uneven, about pea-size, with no big clumps left.
Plan this in Dollop, and get the grocery list
Dollop puts this dinner on a night that suits your week, lists only what you still need to buy, and walks you through each step while you cook.
More dinners like this
Microwave chraime (spicy North African fish in tomato sauce)
18 min
Microwave jacket potato with tuna and sweetcorn
18 min
Microwave lemon pepper fish with couscous
20 min
Microwave mashed potato bowl with chicken and gravy
12 min
30-minute dinners ›High-protein dinners ›What to make with spinach and feta cheese ›