Roasted Veggies over Israeli Couscous Pilaf

Sitting in my living room tonight after a long day at work, the only thing I wanted to do was pop open this bottle of wine....

North Fork Shinn Estate Vineyards

and eat my left over mom baked birthday cake for dinner. And let me tell you, I almost did. I admit I had a  sliver of the cake while I pondered my dinner. I curled up on my comfy couch enjoying the sound of pouring rain and thunder and started flipping through my new cookbook, Super Natural Everyday, courtesy of my lovely sister Tara. Let me tell you how much I love Heidi Swanson.... A LOT!! I have followed her blog 101 Cookbooks for a while now. I just think she is this really rad, artistic chef. Basically she is my idol. I know I have mentioned her a few times prior on this here blog. I highly recommend that you buck up and sign-up to follow her as well. She has some great, healthy, and different recipes. Her photography is amazing and I can only hope that one day with a good camera my pictures will come out as beautiful as hers. 

Well, once again she inspired me to prepare a healthy meal for myself. So using the fresh veggies I had in the pantry (thanks mom!) I threw a little somethin' somethin' together. This is a classic that I love. My mom makes these roasted vegetables all of the time. I decided to pair mine with pearl couscous, a.k.a. israeli couscous. I used the veggies as an entree but these would both work separately as side dishes to a nice apple cider chicken breast, or if you like red meat to a steak. 

Roasted Veggies

1 small baking potato-peeled and cubed

1 butternut squash- peeled, seeded and cubed

1 small head of cauliflower, chopped

1 large red onion, thickly sliced

2-3 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Thyme

Salt and Pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Throw all veggies onto two big cookie sheets. Drizzle olive oil overtop veggies, sprinkle with thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Quickly toss the veggies right there on the pans. Make sure not to over crowd the veggies, you don't want them to steam in the oven. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Flip once at about 17 minutes or until the bottom of the veggies are golden brown. Make sure not to flip the veggies too soon, you want a nice caramelized texture on the bottom. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand. I also use sweet potatoes, carrots, parsnips, and turnips. Have fun with it! 

prior to being cooked

Israeli Couscous Pilaf

1 cup Israeli or pearl couscous

1 small yellow onion, diced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 3/4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

2 Tbsp. Olive oil

Salt and Pepper 

In a medium saucepan, heat olive oil. Add onions and allow to soften approximately 3 minutes.  In a separate saucepan bring stock to a boil. Add garlic to onions and continue to saute another minute or two, add pearl couscous and toast for one minute. Pour boiling stock into couscous and cook for 8-10 minutes or until couscous is soft but still has a slight bite to it (al dente). Serve with vegetables on top. I added an extra drizzle of olive oil before serving and a some freshly grated Parmesan Reggiano.

This was a great fall dinner full of warmth and flavor. The thyme adds a nice earthiness to the vegetables and the couscous adds that extra heft to make the meal feel substantial. The colors even remind me of fall :) I hope you enjoy the recipes and let me know if you try it in the comments section below! Be on the lookout for recipes from the above mentioned cookbook, I will be trying them out shortly.