I made the Pearl Couscous with Olives and Roasted Tomatoes, from the Smitten Kitchen blog, as a side for salmon recently. I really enjoyed this as a side, it was a nice change of pace from our normal salmon side dish of broccoli or brussels sprouts.

By the time I went to cook the recipe, I’d forgotten that the tomatoes were roasted low and slow. So I cranked the heat up to 400° and turned on convection, and they were done in 20-25 minutes.

About half of the tomatoes I used had been in the freezer (whole). I didn’t thaw them, just sliced them and threw them in as is. I would not recommend frozen tomatoes for this recipe; they were fine but they broke down faster and a few of the smaller halves burned.

This would be great to make in a big batch and bring to a party; you could also throw in some chickpeas or white beans and call it lunch. This made enough for two big sides, with a small amount left over.