Table Talk » I could eat this every day for the rest of my life

My name is Patti and I am an Israeli couscous addict.

There are worse things to be addicted to. My latest Israeli couscous recipe find combines the little pearls of yumminess with roasted butternut squash, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, parsley, lemon, and cinnamon. Too good to be true.

I came across a recipe for Cinnamon and Lemon Pearl Couscous and Roasted Butternut Squash while searching for a side dish to pair with Salmon with North African Flavors.. Thanks to Forks.ca for this great recipe.

There are a lot of steps to this recipe, but all of them are easy and don''t take very long. You start by roasting small cubes of butternut squash. OK, so cutting up a butternut squash can be time consuming. The store where I shop always has peeled butternut squash halves. They also have cubed butternut squash, but the pieces aren't uniform so they don't roast evenly and have to be cut again. I find that the precut butternut squash cubes are often a bit squirrely around the edges. The peeled halves seem fresher and I can cut them into whatever size pieces I need for my recipe.

While the squash is roasting, you can cook the Israeli couscous and saute the onion. At least I can. This recipe called for cooking the Israeli couscous like pasta in a pot of boiling salted water with a cinnamon stick. That makes sense since Israeli couscous is a form of pasta, but this was the first time that I've cooked it that way. I've always cooked it by sauteing it in a small amount of butter or olive oil, then adding liquid, bringing it to a boil, then simmering for 10 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. I think next time I make this recipe, I'll cook it that way because I think the couscous picks up more flavor from the cinnamon stick when cooked with a small amount of water. I'm curious to see if cooking it using the absorption method will result in more cinnamon infused into the couscous.

Once the squash, onion, and couscous are cooked, toss them together with lemon juice and zest, parsley, toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, ground cinnamon, and salt and pepper. And dig in!

When I made this for Tuesday's client, I made some extra servings for me. I added some chickpeas to it and had it for lunch for a few days. With chickpeas, it becomes a hearty vegetarian main dish. OK, so I ate it for breakfast yesterday too. I said I was addicted. I wasn't kidding.

P.S. I'm going to try this with quinoa. I think a quinoa version of this recipe will be delicious too. And perfect for my gluten-free clients.

Cinnamon and Lemon Israeli Couscous w/Roasted Butternut Squash
adapted from Forks.ca
Serves 4-6

3 cups butternut squash, peeled and seeded, and cut into 1/2-inch dice
4 teaspoons olive oil
salt and black pepper, to taste
1/2 onion, chopped
1 cup Israeli couscous
1 cinnamon stick
1/2 lemon, zested and juiced
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 450°F. Toss squash with 2 teaspoons olive oil, season with salt and pepper, arrange on one layer on a baking sheet and roast in upper third of oven 15 minutes, until just tender. Transfer to a large bowl.

Cook onion in 1 teaspoon oil over moderately high heat, stirring occasionally, until just beginning to turn golden. Add squash to pan and leave heat on very low.

Meanwhile cook couscous with cinnamon stick in a large pot of boiling salted water 10 minutes, or until just tender, and drain in a colander (do not rinse). Toss the couscous with 1 teaspoon of oil and toss with vegetables.

Add lemon zest and juice, parsley, toasted pine nuts, raisins, ground cinnamon. Toss to mix well. Season with salt and black pepper.

Posted March 6, 2009 9:23 PM in Recipes

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5 Comment(s)

WendyGK said… (on March 7, 2009 at 07:35 AM #)

Hi Patti
Looks delicious. As I was reading your intro, I thought..wonder how to make it gluten free. Then, you answered my question. Yum. PleaseTwitter about your gf results.

Cindy Barnard said… (on March 8, 2009 at 11:22 AM #)

Patti, This sounds wonderful.
I've never used Israeli couscous but I'm sure going to now.
My Tuesday client has become a quinoa addict so I'll definitely give that variation a try.
Thanks so much for this.

Sherrill St. Germain said… (on March 9, 2009 at 16:16 PM #)

Ditto! The recipe I use (from the Boston Globe, I think) has green beans, almonds, and craisins with curry, but it's easy to see how you could get addicted to this one as well. Question: Do you think it would work to substitute orzo for the Israeli couscous, which I keep running out of? :^}

Patti said… (on March 9, 2009 at 16:33 PM #)

Sherrill, I think it would be good with orzo, but orzo isn't as delicious as Israeli couscous. I think I'd like it better with quinoa than with orzo. You could do what I do and buy 10 pounds of it at a time from Amazon. This is what I order: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EO7GJ4. When I bought it about 2 weeks ago, it was $29 for 10 pounds, qualified for Amazon Prime, and I signed up for regular deliveries and got an additional 20% discount. Sadly it's currently unavailable. I'm sure it will be back soon. You can sign up to be alerted when it is available.

Patti said… (on March 29, 2009 at 14:03 PM #)

This is excellent with quinoa. I toasted the quinoa in a dry pan until it popped, then added water, cinnamon, bring to boil, cover, and simmer about 20 minutes. Used 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon because I'm out of cinnamon sticks.


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