Tired of plain couscous just sitting on your plate? I sure was so I rolled it up and made cheesy couscous balls. Crunchy on the outside and so good!

Happy Saturday everyone! Hope you have great weather and can get out and do something this weekend. It’s gorgeous and sunny here in Salt Lake and I have a serious case of spring fever. Barbecues, outdoor dining, finally planting some flowers… it’s all on my agenda. But first, I have this great cheesy couscous recipe for you. Rather then just cooking it up in a saucepan and calling it good, I thought about making them into round balls as a new twist on couscous.

What I didn’t anticipate was that this was a messy recipe. Rolling the couscous into balls can be a challenge. The key here is not to press so hard. I learned that the hard way since the first time I tried rolling one, I got couscous everywhere….. so roll them over the bowl so it doesn’t get on the counter. The couscous mix will seem like they won’t hold a shape but after rolling it into the panko, it did just fine.

My main dish of the night was Southwest Salmon. I’m part of Two Snooty Chef’s “gourmet spice of the month” club and the March spice was Southwest Sedona. I took my salmon steak and brushed it with olive oil then sprinkled it with the seasoning. wrapped it foil and baked it for 20 minutes at 350. Since the couscous was baked at the same temperature, they both cooked together nicely.

The mess to make the couscous balls was worth it. These were good and it was fun to have my favorite couscous in a different way. Plus, the eggs held it together during the baking process so when I cut one in half it doesn’t disintegrate.