Couscous and Sausage, Yes Please!

I have to say, that so far my experience in LA has been great.  I especially love the restaurants I've found.  But every so often, you really just need a little time at home.  Getting in the kitchen and trying something new is probably one of my favorite things these day, besides blogging of course.  So tonight, I thought I might try something I've seen several times, but never cooked.  Tonight I made sausage with raisins and toasted pine nut couscous.  And to add to the visual, I managed to take pictures of the entire thing!

So first, I started with the sausage, since it takes the longest to cook.  Ever notice how gross it looks when its cooking?  Yeah, me too.

1.) Sear the sausage on both sides, then add 1/2 cup water and cover, simmering until links are 160 degrees

Next I pulled together all my ingredients for couscous.  Feel free to toss in your favorite spices/herbs to the broth.  I love coriander.

2.) Make couscous according to the directions given.  I use chicken stock instead of water to add some extra flavor

Next, I toasted the pine nuts,  just to add a little extra....umph

3.)  Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  You know its done when you can start to smell the nuts toasting.  

Once the nuts have finished roasting and the couscous has puffed up, toss the nuts in the pot with the couscous and fluff.  You can also add the raisins now if you like.  My husband hates raisins, so I just waited and added it to my individual bowl.  I picked up some fresh basil from the farmers market this weekend, so I decided to add a little of that to the bowl as well.

4.)  Toss in raisins and basil, or your favorite flavor profiles.  I used regular raisins, but you could also use golden raisins

Last week I visited Ponte Winery in Temecula, CA for my birthday.  Great winery by the way!  I picked up an amazing Pinot Grigio, and I was looking for the perfect dish to uncork it for, and I thought this would make a nice pairing.

5.) Uncork your favorite wine and relax, because its going to be an amazing dinner!

Finally, after letting the sausage rest once it finished cooking, I sliced it into disks and added it to my bowl.  Take a look at the finished product.  What do you think?  Looks good right?

6.)  Let's EAT!

Now I don't want to brag, but this was actually amazing!  The soft couscous with the chewy raisins mixed so great with the toasted nuts.  I also really enjoyed the sweetness that the raisins brought to the table.  All in all I was really impressed.  Might try to switch it up a little.  Maybe add chicken next time, or some dried cranberries or apricots diced up.  It seems like a great dish to play around with.  I would highly recommend trying this out if you are in the mood to stay home and whip up something quick.

Until next time,

Guten Appetit