Minted Couscous with Fruit

A few days ago I saw Giada de Laurentis making this recipe for sweet couscous on Food Network. It sounded so good, that for dinner I went into the kitchen and started to play around with my own version. I changed several of the ingredients and added a touch of cardomom. I think you could use any combination of dried fruit - I just used what I had available. I confess I didn't measure the fruit, I just tossed in a handful of each kind. And since my garden is overflowing with mint right now, I added a bit of chopped mint as a topping which was perfect!


Minted Couscous with Fruit

1 3/4 cups water
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cardomom
1/3 cup dried cherries, chopped
1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/3 cup golden raisins
1 1/2 cup couscous
1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint

1) In a medium sized saucepan, heat the water to boiling. Add the sugar and salt and stir until disolved.
2) Reduce the heat and toss in the dried fruit and simmer for a few minutes. Then add the cardomom and the 1 1/2 cups couscous. Stir and remove from heat.
3) Let it set for about 5 minutes or until the liquid is absorbed. Use a fork to fluff up the couscous, then mix in the almonds and most of the chopped mint. Serve with additional chopped mint on top.