Whole Wheat Couscous with Roasted Peppers


     This couscous cooks up very quick. A wonderful alternative to the whole wheat couscous is to use the pearl couscous. For a gluten free alternative make this with quinoa or brown rice. Follow the directions for cooking the quinoa or rice but substitute the lemon water in this recipe for the amount of cooking water needed. Add the spices & seasoning with the water when cooking. When the quinoa or rice is done, stir in the roasted peppers. It is easy to roast the peppers for this dish but if you are really in a hurry then substitute with half a cup of jarred roasted peppers.

Roasted Pepper Couscous 
gluten free option (see below)

Ingredients:

Spices & seasoning:
   ½ tsp. cumin
   ½ tsp. coriander
   ¼ tsp. turmeric
   ¼ tsp. cinnamon
   ¼ tsp. salt
   ¼ tsp. black pepper

1 red bell pepper or ½ red & ½ green
1 lemon
2/3 cup whole wheat couscous

Directions:

1. Combine spices in a small bowl and set aside.



2. Cut bell pepper in half, remove seeds. Place on a small baking sheet and rub with a little oil. Roast under a broiler, 2nd rack position of oven. Roast for 10 – 15 minutes, turning every 5 minutes with tongs. When charred and softened remove from the oven and place in a small bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 5 minutes to steam and cool. Remove the peppers from the bowl and peel off the thin outer skin. Dice up the peppers and set aside.

 To make clean up easy, line baking pan with foil.




3. Zest (finely grate) about 1 tsp. of the lemon rind. Cut the lemon and squeeze the juice into a measuring cup. Fill the cup with water to make 1 cup of lemon water.


4. In a small saucepan with a lid, add the lemon zest, lemon water and spice mix.  Bring to a boil then remove from the heat. Stir in the whole wheat couscous, cover and let sit for 5 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. Stir in roasted bell pepper and fluff with a fork.

Note: For a gluten free variation, cook 1 cup of brown rice in 2 cups of water. Add the spices, lemon zest and water to the cooking water. Cooking time will be about 20 minutes or according to rice cooker timing. Stir in roasted pepper after rice is cooked.



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