Roasted Vegetables with Israeli Couscous

I love roasted vegetables.  Potatoes, onions, carrots, you name it.  I particularly love roasted squash.  Given the abundance of squash during the fall, I’m in hog heaven.  I bought a butternut squash last week in anticipation of roasting it.  I didn’t have any recipe in particular in mind, so I just sorta winged it.  I spied some Israeli couscous in the pantry I’d bought at my local international foods market and decided it would be a great accompaniment to my roasted vegetables.   I adapted it from this recipe I found on epicurious.com.  It all turned out quite well!  I served the vegetables over the couscous and garnished it with some fresh parsley and shredded parmesan cheese.  I think some goat cheese would also work well with this.  I’ll give that a try the next time I make it :).

Roasted Vegetables with Israeli Couscous

Ingredients

Vegetables

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 large purple onion, chopped into large pieces
• 6 cloves of garlic, smashed
• 2 T chopped sage leaves
• olive oil
• salt and pepper

Couscous

• 1 T butter
• 2 c Israeli couscous
• 4 c chicken broth
• 1 – 2 cinnamon sticks
• 5 – 6 whole allspice

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with foil or parchment paper.  Divide the squash, onion, garlic and sage between the two sheets.  Drizzle with olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and toss to coat.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the vegetables are softened and browned.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan.  Pour in the couscous and cook for several minutes until the grains are nicely browned.  Add the chicken broth, the cinnamon sticks, and the allspice.  Cover and simmer over low heat until the broth is absorbed and the grains are separated, about 10 to 15 minutes.
3. To serve, place the couscous on a plate and top with the roasted vegetables.  Garnish with chopped parsley and parmesan cheese, if desired.