New York Hudson Valley Eats & Treats!: Mixed Berry Couscous

Monday, May 21, 2012

Mixed Berry Couscous

Alright folks, today we're going to do a tasty recipe that makes a nice snack for breakfast or brunch - Mixed Berry Couscous. This recipe can be done in about 20-25 minutes time and makes a very tasty breakfast meal or side. This recipe serves 3-4 people.

You will need:

1 Cup of instant Couscous, plain.
1 Cup each apple and cranberry juice. If you can't get PURE cranberry, just use 2 cups straight apple.
1 Stick of cinnamon
2 Teaspoons of orange zest, NO WHITE PITH, just the nice orange zest :) Use a microplane zester.
2 Cups raspberries
1.5 cups each of strawberries, cut in half, and blueberries.
1 Tub of FAGE Greek Yogurt or equivalent.
2 Tbsp of honey
Mint leaves to garnish (optional, but they look great and add to the taste.)

Note that you can use any brand of greek yogurt, but FAGE in my humble opinion is the best, so that's the one I mention here. Please note that you can also substitute bulgar wheat instead of the couscous in this recipe - but then it wouldn't be Mixed Berry Couscous, it would be Mixed Berry Bulgar! So if you do so, be sure you adjust the title accordingly before serving this dish to your guests :)

A box of Near East couscous - available in most supermarkets

Directions:

1. Combine the apple and cranberry juice and cinnamon stick in a sauce ban, and bring to a slow simmer. Don't boil the juices - a low simmer is perfect. Stir in the couscous and remove from the heat. Cover the sauce pan and let the couscous absorb all the liquid. This step will take between 5-10 minutes. Once all the juice has been absorbed by the couscous, take out and dispose of the cinnamon stick.

2) Fluff the couscous with the fork - you want to separate the grains and make them nice and fluffy. Gently mix in the orange zest and about 3/4ths of the berries until you have a homogeneous mixture. Serve the couscous and berry mixture into 4 small bowls, then cover with the remaining berries. Add a nice sized dollop of yogurt to each of the bowls, then drizzle the honey over the yogurt and berries.

3) Garnish each of the bowls with a few mint leaves and serve.