Couscous dish gets winter lift with pears, dash of spices

Pear Almond Couscous is based on the Moroccan equivalent of pasta. This recipe gets a sweet and spicy twist from canned pears and a dash of cumin and cilantro. The addition of sauteed chicken breast strips can make this a one-dish meal. Associated Press

From time to time, there comes an urge to give winter dishes a lift. One to try is this sweet and spicy couscous recipe that takes about 20 minutes to make.

Pear Almond Couscous, based on the Moroccan equivalent of pasta, cooks up in about 10 minutes and is a good accompaniment to meat or poultry.

It uses pantry-shelf items, canned broth and canned pears, with a dash of cumin and cilantro. The addition of sauteed strips of chicken breast would make it a one-dish meal. If you wish, pine nuts may be substituted for the almonds.

Pear Almond Couscous

• 14 1/2-ounce can ready-to-serve chicken broth
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 16-ounce can pears, drained andchopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 cup couscous
• 1/3 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 1 tablespoon butter or margarine

In medium saucepan, combine broth, raisins, salt, cumin and pepper; bring to a boil. Remove from heat; stir in pears, lemon juice, couscous, almonds, cilantro and butter. Cover; let stand 10 minutes. Stir before serving.

Makes 4-6 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (one-fourth of recipe): 359 calories, 10 grams fat (2 grams saturated fat), 8 milligrams cholesterol, 803 milligrams sodium, 58 grams carbohydrates.

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