Couscous with merguez and tomato

There's something special about the smell of garlic and parsley being fried up in olive oil. To me, it's the smell of a true meal being cooked - only because it's the way my mom starts some of her best dishes. Taking a cue from my mom's cooking, I threw together this simple dish with some merguez I found in the freezer and some couscous I bought the other day. If you've never tried merguez, you're missing out, especially if you like spicy. This North African sausage is usually spiced with chili pepper or harissa, sumac, fennel and garlic and made with either lamb or beef.

Although this dish has some traditional North African ingredients, like merguez and couscous, it's definitely nothing like the traditional Algerian dish (which I still haven't figured out how to make). I guess I should figure it out eventually, considering my fiancé is Algerian, but then I wonder if there's even a point considering 1) he can't eat couscous because he's gluten intolerant, and 2) will I ever even be able to make it like his mom does? Probably not.

If you are gluten free and want to make this, you can easily replace the couscous with quinoa.

Ingredients:
Makes about 3 servings
Total time: 20 minutes

• 1/2 cup couscous (if you're gluten free, use quinoa instead)
• 2 large merguez or sausage
• 3 tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup chopped parsley
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed or diced
• Olive oil
• Salt and pepper

1. Cook the couscous according to directions. 
2. Fry up the garlic and parsley in a little bit of olive oil. Add in the sausage or merguez. 
3. Once the merguez/sausage is cooked, throw in the tomatoes. 
4. Turn the heat down to low and let the meat simmer with the tomato juice for about 3 minutes. 
5. Pour the merguez and tomato over the couscous and serve hot or cold.