Couscous with Apples and Chives for #CrazyIngredientChallenge

It is time for this month's Crazy Ingredient Challenge, where each month we vote from 2 selections of 3 different items that you wouldn't normally think of pairing together. Some months are worse than others.  It's like our very own version of Chopped but our basket only contains two items and our pantries are limitless.  This month wasn't too bad.  The ingredients chosen for this month were Apples and Chives.

My first thought, when I heard Apples and Chives, was a salad.  I often use fruit in my salads so this would have been an easy solution.  Then I thought that if this really was chopped and I presented a lowly salad, while everyone else put some thought into their dish, I would get chopped for sure. 

Then I thought perhaps a chive omelet folded over some spiced apples.  I still think that sounds pretty delicious!  But in the end I was looking for a side dish to go with my Pan Roasted Pork Chops. Apples and Pork Chops are a natural together so I figured I would be able to make a great dish to serve alongside the chops.  I like serving Fried Apples with my chops and I thought about just adding some chives to those but it didn't sound appealing to me.  I make a great Kale with Apples and Onions and could easily substitute chives for the onions or add chives in addition to the onions. Hmmm, that would work but I had no Kale in the refrigerator.  How about cabbage with apples and chives?  That was it, I had decided on the cabbage dish, then I came across this recipe at Food.com and knew that it was exactly what I was looking for.

I made many changes to the original recipe.

Leek instead of green onions.

Cider instead of juice.

Pearl couscous instead of instant.

Honeycrisp apple instead of tart apple.

Only 1/2 t. of curry powder.

I also halved the recipe as there were only two of us having dinner.

It was creamy with bites of apple, onion and chives.

It reminded me a little bit of risotto which would also work with these ingredients.

Couscous with Apples and Chives
adapted from Food.com

1/4 c. apple cider
1 large apple, peeled, cored and diced
1 small leek, white and light green parts, chopped
2 T. fresh chives, snipped
1/2 t. curry powder
1 c. pearl couscous
1 1/4 c. chicken broth
salt and pepper to taste

Place all ingredients into a saucepan over med high heat and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 8-10 minutes, until pasta is tender.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Print Recipe

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