Couscous with Roasted Butternut Squash

Last week I picked up the book Pumpkins and Squashes from the library and knew immediately the first recipe I wanted to try was the couscous salad with roasted butternut squash. Seriously, it’s October, which means we should all be upping our weekly squash intake a notch or two as part of our civic duty, right? Right.

This recipe, rocks. And so do the leftovers. Make it! You’ll be glad you did.
Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded, chopped into 1/2″ chunks
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup couscous
1 3/4 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 small zucchini, diced
1 tablespoons lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped {optional}

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place chopped butternut squash in a bowl and add 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Toss to coat and then pour the squash out onto a baking sheet and cook until tender {about 30 minutes}.

While the squash is roasting, bring the vegetable stock to a boil over medium heat, add couscous, stir and then cover and remove from heat and let stand for 3 minutes. Gently stir in 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cucumber, zucchini, cover and set aside until the squash is finished roasting.

Whisk remaining honey, olive oil and lemon juice together. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir the mixture through the couscous and top with roasted squash. Garnish with chopped parsley and serve warm.