Honeyed Couscous Porridge

There's been a bag of organic whole wheat couscous sitting in my cupboard for a little while now, and when i came across this recipe i knew it was the perfect time to break open that couscous bag. I made a few changes because i didnt have all the ingredients called for in the recipe...instead of orange zest, i used lemon....and i only had buckwheat honey so thats what i ended up using. Next time though i'd use a milder honey, the buckwheat has a distinctive taste which kind of took over the whole porridge.

I must say that i wasn't blown away by this dish when it was warm; i liked it better the next day cold from the fridge. Its a good alternative to oatmeal for breakfast, just add a dollop of yogurt and add top with some more nuts.

my honeypot and some dates

HONEYED COUSCOUS PUDDING
3/4 cup chopped pitted dates
3 cups low-fat milk
1/4 cup honey
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
1 cup plain or whole-wheat couscous
1 teaspoon vanilla extract Ground cinnamon for dusting pudding
2 tablespoons chopped skinned pistachios (optional)

1. Put dates in a small bowl. Add boiling water to cover. Cover the bowl and set aside.
2. Heat milk, honey, cinnamon stick and orange zest in a saucepan over medium-high heat until nearly simmering. Stir in couscous and vanilla, remove from the heat and cover. Let stand until most of the milk has been absorbed, about 20 minutes. Remove the cinnamon stick.
3. Drain the dates and stir them into the couscous. To serve, spoon into bowls and sprinkle with ground cinnamon and pistachios, if using