Couscous is a great blank canvas for a variety of ingredients. Lately, I’ve been adding toasted almonds, dried cherries, goat cheese and roasted butternut squash to mine. This weeknight side is easy to put together and could serve as your main dish. We’ve been eating ours with tilapia.

Couscous with Almonds, Dried Cherries, Goat Cheese & Roasted Butternut Squash

Two Big Servings

2/3 c. whole wheat couscous

3/4 c. chicken broth, vegetable broth or water – your choice

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil

1 tbsp. slivered almonds toasted

1 c. of roasted butternut squash (This is an estimate. I used an entire butternut squash for this.)

1 tbsp. goat cheese crumbled

2 tbsp. dried cherries

salt & pepper

In a small saucepan, bring the water or broth to a boil, along with the evoo.

While this is cooking, spread almonds out in a pan in a single layer. Toast them lightly over medium-low heat. When they begin to smell or have light brown spots, remove the pan from the heat.

When the liquid is boiling, stir in the couscous. Remove the pan from the heat and let the mixture sit for five minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Stir in the toasted almonds and dried cherries.

Gently fold in the roasted butternut squash. Lastly, crumble in the goat cheese and season with salt and pepper to taste.