Heading to North Georgia...

I am going to try something new today.  Instead of sharing a recipe from another person/website/cookbook, I am going to share a recipe I made up today for lunch.  It is a pretty simple recipe but still pretty delicious.  I hope you like it!

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Arugula Butter Couscous

1 1/2 cups whole wheat Israeli couscous

4 cups arugula, divided into 2 1/2 cups, 1 cup, and 1/2 cup

2 tablespoons butter

1 teaspoon of kosher salt

1/2 ripe lemon

parmesan or romano cheese (as much as you desire)

Bring 3 cups of salted water to a boil.  Add couscous to water and lower heat to low.  Let that cook for about 20 minutes.  

Meanwhile, add 2 1/2 cups of the arugula, 2 tablespoons of butter, and 1 teaspoon of salt to a food processor.  Pulse until arugula, butter, and salt create a pesto-looking mixture.  Squeeze in the ripe lemon.  Pulse again.  Place in the arugula butter mixture in the refrigerator until couscous has completed cooking. 

Once couscous is done cooking, take 1 cup of arugula and add to the still hot couscous.  This should cause the arugula to wilt a little bit.  Then add the arugula butter mixture to the couscous.  Stir again until the arugula butter mixture is even distributed throughout.  Add the remaining 1/2 cup of arugula and serve.  If you would like, you can add grated parmesan or romano cheese to the top along with a squeeze from any remaining lemon.  Enjoy!

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I am actually typing this while in the North Georgia mountains at a work retreat.  Due to this work related adventure, I will clearly not be cooking the next couple days.  I haven't gotten to explore yet but I hope I will be able to provide some photos of the beautiful fall mountains instead of the normal food photos.   Hopefully that will be a nice change!