Couscous Caviar (Gluten Free)

Here’s the thing. I love entertaining. I love creating appetizers that make my guests happy and provide a little flare. But, I stop short of calling myself super….”cultured.”

For example. John and I went on a Southern Caribbean cruise for our one year anniversary (it was our honeymoon, just delayed). We were SO excited to have saved enough to purchase the Honeymoon Delux package…it included Champagne dinners, a special room service breakfast-in-bed menu, a couples massage and a few other additional perks…one of them being “Canapés delivered to your stateroom one evening.” Sweet…we assumed Canapés  would consist of deliciously hearty goodness like the rest of the package. We ordered them one evening and waited with intense anticipation.

When they arrived they were not what we were expecting. I don’t eat seafood…John’s not much of a sushi guy. Most of them consisted of some form of sushi on top of a bread of some sort. Here’s John’s reaction (in some cases the photo just speaks better than words).

We’ll just say they weren’t exactly what we were expecting.

Fast forward a bit. We now own a home and enjoy hosting guests. One of my passions? Creating food that everyone can enjoy…with a little class thrown in. To make this happen this past weekend I tried something new…couscous cavier. Check out my recipe below!

Couscous Caviar (Gluten Free)

Ingredients

• 1 box Glutino gluten-free parmesean-garlic bagel chips
• 2 ounces of Neufchâtel or cream cheese
• 1/2 cup gluten free couscous pearls (you can find these in the gluten free isle, whole foods stores and farmers markets)
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp curry powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 cup orange juice OR freshly squeezed juice from one navel orange (I recommend the latter)
• 1 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup fresh Parmesan or Asiago cheese.

Directions

Put the couscous, spices, water and juice into a pan…cover and bring to a boil. Keeping the lid on, continue to boil for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the liquid has been absorbed. Allow the couscous to cool (I let mine cool overnight, in the fridge to allow the flavors to marinate).

Shortly before serving, spoon the cream cheese of your choosing onto bagel, with about a tsp of the couscous. Finish by sprinkling with the grated cheese.

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