Israeli Couscous with Fresh Herbs and Pecans

This is one of those side dishes I cannot get enough of on my plate. I shamefully admit I went back for seconds, when I should have gone for seconds of the zucchini. Oh well, I probably could/would eat this as a meal in itself, and I may do that for lunch tomorrow.

I love the plumpness of this style of couscous it reminds me a lot of barley (one of my favorite grains) but softer. Although Israeli couscous isn't a grain, rather a pasta, I still like to substitute it in recipes that call for rice or small pastas.

Tonight I didn't follow a recipe, and I wasn't sure if I was even going to make the couscous. I started messing around in my kitchen, and found some ingredients that would go very nicely with it. I was very pleased with the results in both taste (hence the seconds ; p ) and time. It came together in about 25 minutes.

Israeli Couscous with Fresh Herbs and Pecans

1 cup Israeli couscous

2 cups chicken stock

1/4 cup finely chopped red/purple onion

1 clove garlic minced

1 1/2 tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. fresh chopped oregano

2 tsp. fresh chopped parsley

1/2 cup pecan peices

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a medium sized sauce pan. Add onion and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, pecans and couscous and toast for a couple more minutes. Add fresh herbs, salt and pepper and chicken stock. Let come to a boil cover and simmer about 20 minutes or until most of the liquid has been asorbed and couscous is creamy.