I was inspired to create this dish while dinning at Atlas Bistro in Scottsdale from the fall restaurant week menu. One of the most delicious and memorable parts of that dinner was the mound of Israeli Couscous. I could taste the blended beets blanketing the couscous. I never had such a dish and thought it was interesting. Lots of delicious Harissa came with the couscous that taste identical to my recipe for Harissa. It took me so long to do this dish because my local supermarkets (Costco, Safeway, Walmart Grocery, WinCo) don’t sell Israeli Couscous and I often forget about looking for this ingredient.  I knew I could recreate it and I did and ran with it. The flavors go together like magic. This one will dazzle most people.

I used Israeli Feta that that is less tangy and more creamy than regular feta cheese. I purchased it from Trader Joe’s. If you can find a home made Feta Cheese that would be even better!

Ingredients for the beets around 8 servings

2 lb beets (usually I peel after cooked but this time I peeled before cooking, cut up a little)

1 bay leaf

1 cinnamon stick

1 Tablespoon allspice berries

1/2 preserved lemon

1 cup water

1 cup rice wine vinegar

1 cup sugar

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees. Add everything to your roasting pan. Cover with foil. Cook about one and one half hours or until beets are fork tender.

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Ingredients for the Harissa Vinaigrette about 8 servings

2 red bell peppers roasted- remove stem, core, seeds and skin – chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon caraway seed

2 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves – chopped

sea salt (fresh ground to taste)

black pepper (fresh ground to taste)

1-3 hot peppers-  (you have to wing it here. All peppers have different heat and I suggest adding your chopped hot pepper at the end and then decide on how many you want to use. This sauce should be spicy.)

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1 lemon just the fresh juice

2 Tablespoons red wine vinegar

Directions just blend till smooth.

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Ingredients for couscous about 8 servings

2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 cup dry Israeli Couscous

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

Directions saute couscous in olive oil on medium high heat for 2-3 minutes until you see the couscous is slightly toasted. Add vegetable broth and bring to boil, cove, reduce to simmer for about 10 minutes, when couscous is done.

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Ingredients for creamy beet sauce for couscous for about 4 servings

2 oz. water

1 cup beets – chopped well (these are the beets you just cooked)

2 oz feta cheese

Directions

Blend well and mix into couscous.

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Assemble and add ons to finish

Cut up leftover beets and serve them with the couscous. Use a generous amount of Harissa with each serving.

14 leaves of chopped mint (one leaf or a little more per serving)

8 teaspoons of roasted crushed pistachios  (one teaspoon per serving)

8 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (one teaspoon per serving)

1/2 cup chopped scallions (about one tablespoon per serving)

Tasty and different! Delicious…….you just might not want to be as fancy and mix the harissa into the couscous. Something that you would eat at a restaurant. You might want to make want to double or triple the Harissa recipe. It is great on eggs, grilled meats and is super awesome on spaghetti squash too.

My husband usually isn’t into this kind of food and he said it was so delicious anyone would love it. He says I should make it the next time his parents come over.