Herbed Couscous Pilaf (with variations)

4 points
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup)

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots
1 cup uncooked couscous
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons fat-free, lower-sodium chicken broth
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

1. Heat a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan, swirling to coat. Add shallots; sauté 2 minutes or until tender. Stir in couscous; sauté 1 minute. Add broth and salt; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in parsley and thyme.

Tex-Mex Variation:

In place of broth, use 1/2 cup canned diced tomatoes with chiles, 3/4 c broth and 1/2 c frozen corn.  Omit salt and herbs; stir in 1 Tbsp of lime juice and 1 Tbsp cilantro.

Curried Currant Variation:

Add 1/4 tsp curry powder to shallots as they saute.  Increase broth to 1 1/4 cups.  Add 1/4 c dried currants to pan with broth.  Omit thyme.

Tomato-Feta variation (5 points):

Prepare as directed with less salt (1/8 tsp).  Stir in 3/4 c quartered grape tomatoes, 1/3 c crumbled feta cheese, 1 Tbsp chopped basil and 1 Tbsp lemon juice.

CALORIES 205 ; FAT 3.7g (sat 0.5g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.5g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 20mg; CARBOHYDRATE 35.6g; SODIUM 263mg; PROTEIN 6.5g; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 0.8mg

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