Couscous with Curried Cilantro Pesto

I swear I have this tendency to modify every single dish I make. It’s out of necessity. I always miss one thing, so I make do with what I’ve got.

I’ve been enamoured with cilantro pesto since I had it on some pizza here in town. I needed to recreate this at home. I had grand plans of having it on pizza and pasta and bathing in it spooning it directly into my mouth. I finally picked up some cilantro at the store, but I had waited too long to really use it at peak freshness. I really think that makes a difference. This cilantro was getting pretty pathetic.

I also managed to not have curry paste on hand, so I went with curry powder. It gave it a very different flavor than I was expecting, and certainly a much more yellow color. It works great in couscous, though. You bes’ believe it!

Inspiration: Newlywed, Newly Veg [whose website no longer exists, apparently]

Ingredients

• 1 bunch of cilantro
• juice of one lime
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• water, as necessary for cooking the onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon curry powder
• cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup couscous

Preparation

1. In a skillet, heat oil and cook onions until soft. Add water as necessary to keep them from sticking and/or burning.
2. In a food processor, combine the onion, cilantro, lime juice, salt, curry powder, and cayenne pepper.
3. Process until smooth, adding water to get a consistency you like.
4. Refrigerate for an hour or two to let the flavors meld, or get impatient and only refrigerate it while you cook the couscous.
5. Cook couscous according to package directions.
6. Mix with pesto and top with goat cheese.