RECIPE: Israeli Couscous with Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato

By Sina Mizrahi – The Kosher Spoon

Being that I’m a stay at home mom, I seldom plan for lunch meals. I reason that since I’m home with my kids anyway then I’ll just figure something out when the time comes. Sometimes I pray for leftovers to conveniently nourish my kids mid-day, but that doesn’t always happen. So I mostly rely on easy, quick, healthy meals, or a peanut butter sandwich, to feed my two active toddlers.

This Israeli Couscous with Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato  is my latest go-to lunch recipe. It combines the heartiness of the ptitim (as I grew up calling these small pearled pastas), with the bounty and spice of fall, a lighty roasted sweet potato.

Streamline the preparation by either having a batch of roasted potatoes in the fridge, or roast them while the pasta cooks. This also stores well in the fridge for the next day. Who doesn’t love leftovers?

Half of the Israeli couscous is whole wheat round ones, and the other half is cute little heart-shaped ones.

My little ones couldn’t wait for me to take the pictures so they could dig in. They loved it and I hope you love it, too. Enjoy.

Israeli Couscous with Cinnamon Roasted Sweet Potato

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups of Israeli couscous
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 tablespoon of olive oil
2 cups of boiling water
1 medium sweet potato, diced
1 teaspoon of olive oil
salt and pepper
pinch of cinnamon

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 400F. Toss the sweet potato in 1 teaspoon of oil, salt, pepper and a pinch of cinnamon. Bake for 20 minutes.

2. In a small saucepan, heat one tablespoon of oil on medium heat. Add the onions and cook until translucent. Add the couscous and coat with oil. Add the water, a pinch of salt, stir, bring to a boil and cover. Lower to a simmer and let cook until all the water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Pour the prepared couscous in a bowl with some roasted sweet potatoes.

ENJOY!