Couscous with Pine Nuts & Parmesan

Couscous is a great side dish for chicken, fish, or pork. It's pretty much a blank slate that you can do whatever you want with. I like to cook it in some chicken broth to start off with flavor. Then add additional flavors from there. You can also use this as a foundation for a Meatless Monday meal and add a whole ton of sauteed vegetables - zucchini, summer squash, carrots, tomatoes, etc.

This recipe is for Moroccan couscous. This is the kind that is most widely available in the states; it's extremely tiny beads of pasta. The recipe calls for instant couscous; that's pretty much the only kind that's sold here. So don't worry if your packaging doesn't specifically say "instant," I guarantee that it is.

Couscous with Pine Nuts & Parmesan
Makes: 4 servings

2 cups chicken broth (or 2 cups water with 2 tsp chicken bouillon)
1 cup instant couscous
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese
2 tbsp olive oil

• Toast the pine nuts by placing them in a dry skillet over medium heat. Swirl around the nuts constantly so that they don't burn. This should take about five minutes. Make sure to really keep your eye on it, the nuts can burn quickly. Once toasted, set aside.
• Bring the chicken broth to a boil over high heat.
• Add the couscous to the chicken broth, cover, and remove from the heat. Allow to sit covered for 7 minutes.
• Fluff the couscous with a fork.
• Fold in the pine nuts, Parmesan, and olive oil.