Tonight, I decided to make a nice, light dinner for my boyfriend and I (until I got to the grocery store and saw lobster tails on sale, but that is a story for the next post). So, I whipped up this curried apple and raisin couscous. The recipe originates at 101 Cookbooks, but I made some modifications to the spices and added raisins. I also used a fuji apple, because it’s slightly tart but still sweet and nice and firm. Here is my take on it:

Ingredients:

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 fuji apple, cored and chopped
3 green onions, thinly sliced
handful golden raisins
1 cup couscous
1 3/4 cup water (next time, I am going to try subbing 3/4 cup of water with apple juice to intensify the apple flavor
1 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup pine nuts, toasted gently over medium low heat
handful mint, finely chopped

Directions:

1. Heat 3 tablespoons of the butter and, the curry powder, garam masala, cinnamon, cloves, and a couple pinches of salt over medium heat in a large saucepan.
2. Continue heating and stirring until the spices become fragrant.
3. Stir in the chopped apples and cook for a few minutes, until the apples begin to soften and absorb the spices.
4. Remove the apples from the pan and set aside.
5. To the still hot pan, add the last tablespoon of butter and the green onions. Cook until softened.
6. To the onions, add the water, salt and raisins. Turn up the heat to medium high and bring the water to a boil.
7. Once the water is boiling, add the couscous, stir, cover, and remove from the heat.
8. Let steam for 5 to 10 minutes.
9. Add the apples, pine nuts, and chopped mint to the coucous, and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Serve and enjoy!