045 / 75 · Rice, noodles and pasta
Tomato, Olive and Tuna Pearl Couscous
2 light pearl-couscous meals, each with half the pasta, 60 g (2.1 oz) drained tuna and half the sauce and olives · Active 14 min · Cook 23 min · Total 45 min
Print recipe · PDFPearl couscous needs a simmer; it is not the small instant grain that cooks in a covered rest. Fresh tomato softens first, then the little pasta pearls absorb measured water and tomato juices. Tuna and olives join only after the centers are tender, giving the finished bowls distinct flakes and a light tomato sauce.
Pearls need a real simmer
Read the packet for pearl couscous with an 8–10 minute stovetop simmer, and expect the microwave route to need checks and possibly longer. Small instant couscous has a different texture and water requirement. Gentle stirs move the pasta near the edges back into the wet center. Stop by tenderness rather than assuming a covered stand can finish hard dry pasta.
The tomato is part of the liquid
Keep all the softened tomato and its juices in the bowl. The water amount is deliberately measured alongside that juicy ingredient, not intended for draining away like a large pasta pot. Once the pearls are tender, fold in the drained tuna gently. Chopped olives season the full mixture; use the listed small salt measure rather than salting automatically before tasting the finished cooked bowl.
Ingredients
- 150 g (5.3 oz) ripe tomatoes, washed and finely chopped, all juices retained
- 120 g (4.2 oz) dry pearl couscous with an 8–10 minute stovetop simmer time, not small instant couscous
- 200 ml (about ¾ US cup plus 1 US tbsp) water for the simmer
- 5 ml (1 US tsp) olive oil
- 3 g garlic, about 1 small clove, finely chopped
- 0.5 g dried oregano, about ½ tsp
- 0.5 g fine salt, a small pinch, or less if olives are salty
- 120 g (4.2 oz) ready-to-eat canned tuna in spring water, drained weight
- 30 g (1.1 oz) pitted olives, quartered
- 10 ml (2 US tsp) lemon juice
- 5 g fresh flat-leaf parsley, about 2 US tbsp finely chopped
- Up to 30 ml (2 US tbsp) additional water, reserved for firm pearls only if the sauce becomes dry
Set out
1000 W microwave with turntable, Deep microwave-safe bowl, 2 L (about 2.1 US qt) capacity, Microwave-safe vented cover, Knife and board, Spoon and fork, Kitchen scale and measuring jug, Food thermometer, Oven mitts, Two serving bowls
Allergens
Wheat, Fish (tuna). Check labels and substitutions.
Make it
- Put tomatoes and all their juices, olive oil, garlic, oregano and salt in the 2 L bowl. Cover with the vented cover. Microwave at 1000 W full power for 2 minutes, stir, then cook 1–2 minutes more until the tomatoes have softened and released a loose sauce.
- Stir in the dry pearl couscous and the separate 200 ml water. Cover again and microwave at full power for 2–3 minutes, until bubbling. Reduce to 50% power and cook for 10–13 minutes, stopping to stir every 3 minutes, until the pasta centers are tender. If the sauce dries while the pearls are still firm, add 15 ml (1 US tbsp) of the reserved water and continue covered in 1-minute bursts, using the remaining reserve only if necessary.
- Once the pearls are tender, fold in all the drained tuna and quartered olives. Cover and microwave at full power for 1 minute, stir gently, then heat 1–2 minutes more until the center and several other areas reach 165°F/74°C. Keep the tuna in flakes rather than beating it into a paste.
- Stand covered for 2 minutes. Stir in all the lemon juice and parsley, then divide the entire pasta, fish and light tomato sauce between two bowls. Unused correction water stays out of the finished recipe.
Two different couscous methods
These larger pearls are cooked by a covered simmer with stirring. They do not use the five-minute off-heat hydration method for fine instant couscous.
Finish after tenderness
Heat the tomato pasta until its centers are tender before adding tuna. The final fish stage warms the finished base evenly; it is not meant to rescue undercooked pasta.
Ingredient labels
Pearl couscous is wheat pasta. Check tuna and olives for other ingredients; salmon remains a fish allergen.
A useful detail
The 45-minute estimate allows chopping and measuring, up to 4 minutes tomato heating, 3 minutes to bring the pasta mixture back to a bubble, 13 minutes reduced-power simmer and 3 minutes final heating, then the 2-minute stand and serving. All heating is sequential in one oven. A different pearl size or longer packet simmer can extend the endpoint-controlled cooking; instant couscous cannot use this formula.
Another way
- Replace the tuna with 120 g (4.2 oz) drained ready-to-eat canned salmon. Remove any unwanted skin and bones before weighing; the dish still contains fish.
- Replace olives with 30 g (1.1 oz) drained ready-to-eat capers, rinsed if very salty. Keep the salt at the small listed amount or omit it if the capers supply enough.
Keep it well
Refrigerate shallow portions within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C, at 40°F/4°C or below. Use within 2 days. Reheat once, covered and stirred, adding 15 ml (1 US tbsp) water per portion if needed, until 165°F/74°C throughout; stand covered for 2 minutes. Use any shorter opened-can storage instruction if it applies.