Middle Eastern Chicken Pot and Butter-Nut Couscous
INGREDIENTS
• ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil*
• 1 ½ lbs. boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite-sized pieces
• 1 onion*, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic*, chopped
• 1 cup shredded carrots
• 1 bay leaf*
• 1 tsp. smoked paprika*
• 1 tsp. ground cumin*
• 1 tsp. coriander
• Pinch of ground cinnamon*
• Kosher salt* and freshly ground black pepper*
• ¾ cup chopped dried fruits – pick 1 or combine: figs, pitted dates, apricots, cherries, prunes
• 1 lemon*, zested and juiced (Tip – zest the lemon before you juice it)
• ¾ cup pitted mixed olives, chopped
• 4 cups chicken stock*, divided
• 2 Tbsp. butter*
• 3 Tbsp. pine nuts*
• ¼ cup slivered or sliced almonds
• 1 ½ cups couscous*
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS
Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil ripples add the chicken and brown 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add the onions, garlic, carrots, bay leaf and season with spices, salt, and pepper, cook 5 to 6 minutes. Stir the fruits into the chicken and vegetables, add the zest of the lemon, olives and 2 ½ cups of stock. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes more. Sprinkle with lemon juice and turn off heat. Remove bay leaf.
While chicken simmers, melt butter in a sauce pot over medium heat. Add nuts and lightly toast for a couple of minutes. Add 1 ½ cups stock and bring up to a boil then stir in couscous. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.
Serve chicken over couscous and garnish with parsley.
Wine Pairing
Pinot Noir, Zinfandel
Kid Version
This a great meal to deconstruct for kids! Serve them the completed meal if you think they’ll go for it. Otherwise, serve them a bit of cooked chicken, with raw carrot slices, couscous, dried fruit, and olives on the side.
Recipe courtesy of Food Network
