Not Another Food Blog

Moroccan Couscous Salad with Poached Chicken

Lately I have been cooking up some Moroccan staples at home and this recipe is my adaptation from a number of the more common couscous dishes out there. It’s a piquant blend of warm spicy flavours, sweetness of dried fruit, and zest of citrus and herbs. It’s a long list of ingredients but this will make a big batch and go a long way. Great to feed a crowd!

Ingredients

Couscous part
2 cups (500g) couscous
2 1/4 cups chicken stock
300g chicken breast
4 tbs olive oil
1 tbs butter
1/3 cup mixed raisins, dried cranberries, sunflower seeds
1 large garlic clove, finely chopped
½ lemon zest, rind peeled and sliced finely

Spices for couscous
1 tbs cumin powder
1 tsp teaspoon paprika
1 tsp turmeric powder
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs chopped dried or fresh coriander
1 tsp cracked pepper
½ tsp ground coriander seeds (you can do without it if not available)
Alternatively, you can use 2 tbsp mixed Moroccan spices you can get in the supermarket, just add coriander and cinnamon

Salad part
2 medium tomatos, seeds out and chopped
½ large Spanish onion, chopped finely
½ continental cucumber, chopped (these are the long ones wrapped in plastic)
½ red capsicum/bell pepper, chopped
½ cup chopped continental parsley (flat leaf parsley), finely chopped
1 lemon, juice
6 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp cracked pepper
1 tsp sea salt sea

Directions

1. Bring to boil the stock and all the spices for couscous. Turn down the heat.
2. Cut chicken breast in two halves and add to simmering liquid. Poach the meat for about 8-10 minutes turning it a few times. Remove chicken on a chopping board or a plate to cool down.
3. Add 4 tbsp olive oil to the stock and bring back to boil. Place couscous in a deep mixing bowl, add dried fruit, chopped garlic and lemon zest.
4. Cover couscous with hot stock. The idea is to have equal amounts of stock to couscous, may be just a little bit more stock. Leave covered for 5 minutes or until all liquid is absorbed. The couscous should still be quite moist.
5. While the couscous is setting, chop all your salad ingredients.
6. Add butter to couscous and fluff it up with a fork until well mixed through, make sure there are no lumps.
7. Shred the chicken halves into thin strips of meat and add to couscous.
8. Also, add chopped salad, parsley, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and mix through. It should be moist and zesty in flavour. Add more olive oil if it feels dry.
9. Serve with fresh parsley, a touch of olive oil and may be a dash of basil pesto.

Notes: for a vegetarian version use vegetable stock and replace chicken with chickpeas, lentils or shredded firm tofu.