Salmon and Couscous...who knew?

When I was growing up my dad got on a couscous kick and it totally creeped me out. It looked so grainy. No part of it appealed to me. As I got older and saw it more in cafes and restaurants I always remembered my dad eating it by the pan load. UG!

A month or two ago Alex brought some couscous home and told me we had to try it. I was pretty reluctant, but agreed. Surprise, surprise it was pretty dang good. Tonight we were wrangling for ideas of what to make. I wanted to BBQ and Alex wanted couscous. So we compromised. I got online and searched Salmon and Couscous and picked the first recipe that came up...it so happened to be a Food Network recipe by Bobby Deen of all people. Yes, his mother is Paula Deen, who is hell bent on giving everyone heart disease. Who would have thought he would be capable or allowed to create such a healthy recipe.

Salmon and Couscous:
Olive oil
4 (4-ounce) pieces salmon
Lime

The recipe calls to bake the salmon at 350F putting the lime juice and olive oil on top, but we grilled it and drizzled the lime juice over the top after it was done cooking.

Couscous:
2 1/4 cups water or chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons butter
10 ounces couscous
1 cup diced tomatoes - we used canned tomatoes rather than fresh
1 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup green onions

Combine water or chicken stock, salt and butter in a saucepan, over medium heat and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Add diced tomatoes, crumbled feta, and green onions. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork, and serve hot or cold.

We also added pitted kalamata olives to the couscous and it was FABULOUS!

Alex wasn't so keen on the idea of the feta so I left it out until I was plating up my meal....so one picture is with feta and the other is without. :)

This is a GREAT light recipe. The additional ingredients in the couscous add some serious flavor to this dish. I usually like my salmon with a little tarter sauce....and even went as far to make some up...but didn't use it with this dish because the couscous was so AWESOME! Take the leap...try it out!