Whole Wheat Couscous with Fruit
Couscous is a very small, round pasta, which, when cooked looks a bit like a fluffy, short-grained rice. If you buy the whole wheat variety, it can be very nutritious. The box or bag that you buy the product in will give you a basic recipe — which is good in a pinch. One advantage of this pasta is that it can be quickly prepared. If you want to try a variation on the basic recipe, try the following to produce a couscous mix that has a very nice fruity, slightly tangy flavor.
When heating the liquid to add to the couscous, replace the water called for with a mix of hot broth (chicken works well) and aromatic fruit juice (good choices for the juice include papaya nector, mango nector, apricot or peach nector). If you want to add some dried, chopped fruit to the mix, increase the amount of liquid very slightly from what is called for in the package instructions. Good choices for dried fruit to add are chopped dried mango or dried cherries or cranberries or chopped dried apricots. One-half to one cup, depending upon the size of the fruit and your preference. Once the fruit, liquid, and couscous are combined in a bowl, cover and let them sit for about 5 minutes to absorb the hot liquid.
Then fluff up the couscous with a fork , add a couple of teaspoons of fresh lime juice, and some grated lime rind if you have it. Mix in cilantro and mint, to taste — fresh is preferable to dried. Use 1-2 Tablespoons of each if fresh, and less if using a more concentrated dried leaf. Finish off by adding some chopped, roasted nuts — good choices are pecans, walnuts, almonds or peanuts. You can use about 1/4 cup of nuts, chop them, and lightly roast them in a 350 oven, occasionally stirring to expose different sides of the nut (takes about 10 minutes if oven is preheated). Enjoy!
You can experiment around to discover the ingredients and amounts that you like best.
