This roasted strawberry couscous is filled with fennel, peppers, Israeli couscous and basil for a deliciously sweet and summery side salad.
You know how something gets all hyped up, you’re dying to try whatever it is, it seems like years before you finally are able to only to be hugely disappointed with whatever the thing was?
Yeah, that’s not the case with this.
Roasted strawberries. Two words that have been haunting my dreams for weeks (mainly thanks to this) and that are as kick-ass in real life as they sound.
So much so that I may or may not have licked the baking sheet to get all the juices left behind after transferring them to the serving bowl. They work just as well in savory recipes like this as they do sweet ones like a strawberry milkshake or strawberry bread.
If you were a fly on the wall in my house yesterday you would’ve seen me licking baking sheets during lunchtime making this, pulling my pajama pants (don’t judge) down around 11am when I felt an itch on my upper thigh that kept moving as I scratched it only to find an ant actually in my pants causing it (of all idioms to come true…) and around 7pm, me staring at the bathroom floor completely perplexed at the extra pair of underwear that came out of my workout shorts when I took them off to shower. I somehow went the entire day with an extra pair shoved in between the underwear I was wearing and the underwear sewn into the running shorts even though I went to the bathroom multiple times throughout the day and never noticed. I even went to the store with them shoved up there unknowingly. I wonder how many people were staring at my puffy underwear ass?
A true laundry mystery. Needless to say, I was a hot mess.
A hot mess with a delicious side dish though of roasted strawberry couscous though. It was a fair trade.
I’d take ants and superfluous underwear in my pants again if it was what stood between me and this.
Whole wheat pearled couscous cooked with orange juice, roasted strawberries, fennel and yellow pepper with lots and lots of basil.
Fruity, summery and fresh. Just beware of insects and rogue undergarments while making.
Grain salads like this are some of my favorite summertime lunches along with recipes like strawberry tabbouleh, lentil tabbouleh or bulgur wheat salad.
Looking for a strawberry-less version of this salad? Try this Israeli couscous Greek salad instead or make pesto couscous using the regular variety.
Roasted Strawberry Couscous
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup whole wheat pearled couscous, Israeli couscous
- 1/2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 3/4 cup water
- 3/4 orange juice
- 1 1/2 cup strawberries, hulled
- 1/2 bulb of fennel, sliced
- 1 yellow bell pepper, chopped
- 2 tablespoons basil, chopped
- 2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon honey
- salt & pepper
Instructions
- In a small sauce pan, heat coconut oil over medium-high heat.
- Add couscous and toss to coat in oil. Toast couscous in sauce pan for 2-3 minutes.
- Add water and orange juice, bring to a boil then cover and reduce to a simmer until liquid is fully absorbed (about 20 minutes). Remove from heat.
- Meanwhile, heat oven to 400 degrees and grease a baking sheet with cooking spray.
- Toss strawberrries, peppers and fennel in a medium bowl with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt & pepper.
- Spread out onto baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
- Combine couscous and roasted fruit/vegetables in a medium bowl, toss together with basil and dress with remaining tablespoon of olive oil and honey.
- Season with salt & pepper to taste and serve.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Gina Matsoukas is an AP syndicated writer. She is the founder, photographer and recipe developer of Running to the Kitchen — a food website focused on providing healthy, wholesome recipes using fresh and seasonal ingredients. Her work has been featured in numerous media outlets both digital and print, including MSN, Huffington post, Buzzfeed, Women’s Health and Food Network.
Gina, I was cracking up when I read this post! I sat thru half of a Dodger game before I noticed an extra pair of underwear in my sweat pants leg. I had nowhere to put them, so I just tried to make them as inconspicuous as possible! Glad to know I’m not the only one!!
This recipe looks great… can’t wait to try it.
Why did I never think to roast a flippin’ strawberry? I roast everything else. My house is under construction right now and I have no cooktop and no sink – just an oven. I’m making the strawberries tonight, and the couscous this weekend when my cooktop arrives!
Delicious kind of foods..I cant wait to try it..Thank you for sharing..
So glad I read this! I have been similarly slayed by fear that roasting my strawberries would not make them as delicious as I imagine…time to actually try it!
I think I’m totally missing out by not roasting my strawberries. I need to hop on board and see what this is all about! I can totally see how this is amazeballs though. The juices from the strawberries and the roasting effect. Yum, I can get behind this! Especially with your addition of cous cous. Love it. Oh, and you know what else I love? Your 2nd pic of those strawberries! Beautiful!
I’ve been meaning to roast some strawberries too! They never last long enough, but I really want to try them that way. Also, I just found Israeli couscous after like, 2 years of looking locally(that should tell you something about how tiny my town and surrounding area is, haha) Can’t wait to try it!
Um, I need this. Now. Not when I have time to shop, but now. YUM. Must try ASAP.