PINK BEET COUSCOUS WITH PECANS

Not sure if you know this but, I’m a little obsessed with pink.

Especially when it comes to foods! Just to let you know, these pictures loaded out of my camera and onto my editing app exactly THIS COLOUR! I couldn’t actually believe my eyes when I saw the radiance of these photos. To be honest, and let’s just go with the facts here, most of my photo’s are edited before they are “blog ready”. When I sat down in front of my computer and looked at these I said, hmmmmmmm…..these don’t need anything because they are outta control stunning.

There’s a lot of pink going on here and the mighty beet is to blame for the hue.I absolutely love beets and have used them in everything from salads to baked goods. Yes, the beet is one of the most beautiful vegetables in the universe. I wanted to create a side dish for last night’s salmon supper and I thought why not roast up some beets and mix ’em in with a little couscous.

Never in a million years did I think anything this magnificent would transpire.

When I mixed the warm roasted beets into the fresh couscous, it started to change colour almost immediately. I kept stirring and stirring and it became infused with this luscious pinkness that almost brought me to tears.

Oh come on. I’m getting emotional here over something pink? Not really. I used my hands to peel the stupid beets and they stained my fingers so badly I had to scrub and rescrub until finally I could see the normal colour of my hands again. So ugh, but so worth it.

This was one of those recipes that I created by throwing in this and that from my spice rack and fridge. I added cinnamon to give it an exotic taste, thinking it would be good. Then I tasted it and discovered that I over “cinnamoned” the dish.

Um. Can you over cinnamon something? Yes. How did I reverse the flavour? I added more tartness to the mix. I quickly grabbed a lemon and squeezed it over the couscous. Mixed it through and voila…..the cinnamon dissipated enough to be just a hint of flavour. I have to say, that I can’t wait to make this again AND perhaps take it to a family dinner because really?

IT’S THE MOST STUNNING THING I’VE EVER SEEN.

My theory still stands firm. You can’t beat a beet.

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PINK BEET COUSCOUS WITH PECANS

 

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Author: simply beautiful eating

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• Couscous
• 1 cup of pearl couscous (Israeli Couscous)
• 1½ cups of water or broth
• 
  
• Roasted Beets
• 4 medium size fresh beets, with stems and leaves removed
• 
  
• Dressing
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• juice from half a lemon
• 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
• pinch of cinnamon
• salt and pepper to taste
• ½ cup pecan halves
• Garnish - fresh parsley, dill or cilantro - optional

Instructions

1. To roast beets. Wrap foil over individual beets and seal tightly. Place on baking sheet and bake in 425°F (220°C) oven until tender, about 1 hour.
2. Remove from oven and let cool slightly before peeling skin of with your hands (which will turn pink but don't sweat it....it will wash off.....).
3. Prepare the couscous by bringing the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the dry couscous in and stir. Cover with tight fitting lid and reduce heat to simmer for 8 minutes.
4. Mix dressing ingredients except for pecans and pour over warm couscous. Add beets which should still be warm to the couscous and toss well. The colour will change as you continue mixing them.
5. Toss in pecan halves and garnish as desired.

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