Couscous Spectacular

When I think of couscous, I immediately think of roasted red pepper.  I am not quite sure why I associate those two ingredients because I don't actually have a ton of experience with either of them but especially with regular, small couscous.  My heart belongs to the larger, Israeli whole wheat couscous which I use in as many recipes as possible.  As I have mentioned in a previous post, on Sunday we had a church potluck after the service.  The Mint Chocolate Chip Bars were one of the items I took.  The other item was a couscous salad with roasted red peppers, spinach, toasted walnuts, parmesan, and feta cheese. 

Even with my lack of couscous experience, I thought making a cold salad would be a nice addition to the church potluck.  Because of my association between couscous and roasted red peppers, I decided to use those two ingredients as the building blocks.  Below you will find the recipe I came up with.  It actually turned out really nice.  We had about three servings leftover after the potluck.  I just took it home, added more chopped spinach, and found myself with three couscous spinach salads for lunch on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday.  Quite a nice deal.  I hope you enjoy!

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Spinach, Walnut, and Roasted Red Pepper Couscous

1 box of couscous (whichever flavor you like best)

1/2 cup of whole walnuts (or 1/4 cup of pine nuts), toasted and chopped

1/2 of a 12oz jar of roasted red peppers, cut into small pieces

2 cups fresh, chopped spinach

2 oz reduced fat feta cheese

1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Place walnuts on a cookie sheet and cook for about 5-10 minutes, or until slightly browned.  Once cooled, chop the walnuts with a nut chopper and set aside. 

Follow the directions on the couscous box on how to best prepare the couscous.  

While couscous is in process, cut the roasted red peppers into small little pieces. Set to the side.  Chop the spinach into bite-sized pieces and set to the side.

Once couscous has completed cooking and has cooled for 10-15 minutes, add the spinach and the roasted red peppers into the couscous.  Mix well.  Add the walnuts, feta, and parmesan.  Mix well.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve slightly cooled or around room temperature.  This recipe takes about 30 minutes to make and serves between 5-7 people as a side dish.

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