Roasted Vegetable Couscous with Chickpeas and Onion–Pine Nut Topping (Al Cuscus bil Khodar al-mausim)

Many savory Moroccan dishes incorporate fruit, and this entrée is crowned with a slightly sweet sauté of onions, raisins, buttery pine nuts, and honey. The garnish offsets plain couscous and heightens the sweetness of the roasted root vegetables.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 3/4 cup vegetables, about 2/3 cup couscous, and 2 tablespoons topping)

Ingredients

• Couscous:
• 5  cups  diced peeled sweet potato (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2  cups  (1/2-inch) diced peeled parsnips (about 10 ounces)
• 1 1/2  tablespoons  extra-virgin olive oil
• 1  teaspoon  Ras el Hanout
• 3  carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into 2-inch pieces (about 9 ounces)
• 1  teaspoon  kosher salt, divided
• 1 1/4  cups  organic vegetable broth (such as Emeril's)
• 1  cup  uncooked couscous
• 1  (15-ounce) can no-salt-added chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
• 
  Topping:
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  yellow onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, separated into rings
• 1/4  cup  pine nuts
• 1/4  cup  raisins
• 1  teaspoon  ground cinnamon
• 1  tablespoon  honey

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. To prepare couscous, combine the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; stir in 1/2 teaspoon salt. Place potato mixture on a baking sheet. Bake at 450° for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

3. Bring broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in couscous and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt. Remove from heat; cover and let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork; gently stir in chickpeas. Keep warm.

4. To prepare topping, heat 1 tablespoon oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add onion to pan; cook 12 minutes or until tender and golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add pine nuts and raisins; cook 2 minutes. Stir in cinnamon; cook 30 seconds. Stir in honey, and remove from heat.

5. Mound couscous in the middle of a serving platter. Place the roasted vegetables around base of couscous. Arrange 5 carrots vertically around couscous; spoon topping over top of couscous.

Nutritional Information

Calories:

520 (0.0% from fat)

Fat:

13.7g (sat 1.5g,mono 7.4g,poly 3.8g)

Protein:

11.7g

Carbohydrate:

90.5g

Fiber:

13.9g

Cholesterol:

0.0mg

Iron:

3.5mg

Sodium:

688mg

Calcium:

135mg