Peppery Meat Loaf With Couscous - cooking recipe

Ingredients

3/4 cup water
1/2 cup reduced-sodium beef broth or 1/2 cup water
3/4 cup whole wheat couscous
1 lb extra lean ground beef
8 ounces Italian sausage, removed from casings and crumbled
1 onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1/2 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup reduced-sodium tomato sauce
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350\u00b0F.
9 x 5 inch loaf pan.
Instant read thermometer.
In a saucepan, bring water and beef stock to a boil. Gradually stir in couscous. Cover, remove from heat and set aside or let stand until couscous is tender and water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork before using.
In a large bowl, combine ground beef, sausage, onion, bell pepper, parsley, eggs, all but 2 tablespoons of the tomato sauce, paprika, cumin, coriander, salt, cayenne and couscous. Using your hands, mix until well blended. Transfer to loaf pan and spread remaining 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce over top. Bake in preheated oven until temperature reaches 165\u00b0F on a thermometer, about 1 hour. Makes 8 servings.
VARIATION: Substitute spelt or barley couscous for the whole wheat version.
TIP: For the best flavor, toast whole cumin and coriander seeds and grind them yourself. To toast seeds, spread in a dry skillet over medium heat and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar or a spice grinder and grind.
The Complete Whole Grains Cookbook.