Israeli Couscous with pine nuts and parsley

Vacation is over and I'm feeling the need to get back to cooking.  Last night I made Parmesan Seasoned Chicken, Roasted Zucchini, Onions and Mushrooms and this new recipe.  I found it on the back of a Trader Joe's Israeli Couscous box and just adapted it a bit to fit my family's preferences.  We prefer to keep sweet and salty separate so I skipped the cinnamon and raisins.  

I really loved this recipe, but I'm a big fan of couscous.  What's not to love?  Little pearls of pasta, yummy!  My husband liked it even though he doesn't like pasta.  I convinced him that couscous was actually a cousin to pasta, not really pasta. :)  But seriously, it tasted a lot like a natural rice-a-roni.

Israeli Couscous with Pine Nuts and Parsley
Ingredients
3 Tbsp butter, divided
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup l'itoi onions (or shallots), finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Israeli couscous (from Trader Joe's)
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup parsley, minced
zest of 1/2 a lemon
*optional 1/2 cup raisins
black pepper, to taste

1. Melt 1 Tbsp butter in a large saucepan over medium-low heat.  Add pine nuts and stir until golden brown.  Be very careful because there is a small amount of time between toasted and burned.  Transfer to a small bowl.

2. Melt remaining 2 Tbsp of butter in the same pan over medium heat.  Add onions (or shallots) and saute until golden.  Add couscous and bay leaf (and 1/2 large cinnamon stick if you're feeling adventurous, we skipped it), and stir often until couscous browns slightly.

3. Add broth and salt and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender.

4. Remove from heat and stir in parsley, pine nuts and lemon zest.  Add the raisins for a savory sweet taste (we skipped this).  Season with black pepper.

Enjoy!