One-pan chicken with pearl couscous.

One-pan chicken with pearl couscous.

It’s December. It’s the most wonderful yet hectic time of our calendar year it seems.

The general feel and word on the street is that everyone is just a little ‘stretched’, feeling a little harried and hurried and needing a friendly hand on the shoulder and a gentle reminder every now and then to take some long breaths & look after ourselves through it all. Here enters my friendly hand on your shoulder and my one pan poached chicken with pearl couscous. The flavours are something else. There is much you can do in advance so you are simply throwing things together and only one pan to wash up. It really is a winner, winner, chicken dinner.

One-pan chicken with pearl couscous. This special recipe is from my cookbook Relish Mama ‘Family.

Please enjoy.

Nellie

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Recipe from Relish Mama cookbook ‘Family’]

Poached chicken with pearl couscous and caramelised onions

Serves 4

50ml olive oil

4 chicken breasts, halved, through the centre to make 8 thinner pieces

Sea salt

Freshly cracked black pepper

2 teaspoons of ground cumin

1 teaspoon of ground coriander

1 teaspoon of ground turmeric

1 brown onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon of Sherry vinegar

100ml of white wine

¼ bunch flat-leaf parsley (or use tarragon), leaves picked, washed and roughly   chopped (plus extra to serve)

100 g pearl couscous

250 ml chicken stock

250 g cherry tomatoes, halved

Zest & juice of 1 lemon

Yoghurt dressing

250g natural yoghurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove of garlic, crushed
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon tahini

Mix all yoghurt dressing ingredients together in a bowl and combine.

Preheat oven to 180oC.

Heat the oil, over medium heat, in a large, heavy-based pan that is also oven-proof. Cook the chicken for a couple of minutes, each side & transfer to a plate. Add the ground spices and stir for approx. 2 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and stir for a further 2 minutes. Add the onion and stir for a couple more minutes, ensuring the spices do not burn.

Add the vinegar and wine and allow to cook for a minute or two. Add the couscous and stock and stir to combine. Remove from the heat. Place chicken neatly in the same pan, along with any pan juices. Place the garlic and lemon zest in the pan, along with lemon juice. Season well with salt and pepper. Place a lid on or cover with a double sheet of foil. Transfer to the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes. Allow to sit for a few minutes before serving in the same pan.

Serve with additional herbs and either tahini or minty yoghurt.