Meatless Monday - Couscous with Roasted Squash and Preserved Lemons

The husband and I set out to make preserved lemons a few weeks ago. Then we realized we had a whole jar of preserved lemons and nothing to do with them. A quick search turned up this recipe, which I adapted slightly based on what we had in the pantry. While a little labor intensive, the dish turned out very tasty, one of those terrific recipes where everything is represented - tart, savory, sweet, salty. Delicious. We ate it as a main course for meatless Monday, but it would be great served with any kind of roasted meat, too.

1 medium sized butternut squash, peeled and seeded, cut into 1/4 inch dice
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
10 ounces dry couscous
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch dice (are you seeing a pattern here?)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 preserved lemon, flesh removed, peel cut into 1/4 inch dice
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 cup raisins
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 475. Line a baking sheet with foil. Toss butternut squash with 1 Tablespoon oil and spread in even layer on baking sheet. Roast in oven for 15 minutes, or until squash is tender. Dump squash into a large bowl.

Cook couscous according to manufacturer's directions. Toss with a fork and add to bowl with squash.

Meanwhile, heat remaining Tablespoon of oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook until it begins to turn golden, about 5 minutes. Add onion to couscous mixture.

Return skillet to stove top and toast pine nuts over low heat until golden, about 3-4 minutes. Add to bowl with couscous mixture.

Add all remaining ingredients to couscous and toss well to combine. Serve either hot, room temperature, or cold.

For anyone interested, we got the recipe for preserved lemons from this book. All I can attest is we made them, ate them, and didn't die. They were actually very tasty, though felt disgustingly slimy. I think Sunday Supper's recipe looks much prettier, though. I will be trying their way next.