Wednesday, June 18, 2008

20 Minute North African Chicken with Couscous and Feta Yogurt Sauce

The following recipe is my contribution to the Culinarty original recipe event. Drop by and share one of your original recipes! Fast Flavors of North Africa.....
Since I'm in the middle of a family reunion, I'm getting a ton of honest Pennywise feedback from my relatives. Four of my grown-up nieces requested more recipes for lightening-fast suppers. They're all in the throes of raising small children, and unanimously bemoaned the 6 o'clock crunch. This recipe is for them, and for anyone else that is forced to get dinner on the table without a lot of pomp or ceremony.
I can make this recipe easily in less than 20 minutes, but it might take you a couple extra minutes your first time out. Once you've made it a couple of times, you'll be able to eyeball what you need. Fast is not its only virtue; it's healthful, beautiful, and exotically delicious. And as always, I've got your back for leftovers. Make some extra chicken and yogurt sauce and in a couple of days, we'll make some incredible Moroccan wraps.
20 minute North African Chicken with Couscous and Feta Yogurt Sauce
Estimated Cost: $8.00 for four servings

1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts
1/2 cup salsa or tomato sauce(It's excellent with Fire Roasted Tomato Salsa)
1 teaspoon each paprika, cumin, and garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper
1/8 teaspoon each cinnamon and cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup couscous
1/2 cup raisins, apricots, dried cranberries, or dates
1/3 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup halved grape tomatoes
1/2 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint, basil, or cilantro-or a combination
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Preheat the broiler. Line a cookie sheet with foil. Dip chicken in salsa and sprinkle with spices on both sides. Pour any of the extra salsa over the chicken. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Broil for about 5 minutes on each side, 10 minutes total. Let rest for a few minutes, and thinly slice. Meanwhile, in a medium microwaveable bowl, bring chicken broth to a boil. Add couscous and raisins. Cover and let stand for five minutes; stir in almonds and tomatoes. In a separate small bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, yogurt, feta, mint and lemon juice. Season to taste with salt and pepper. To serve, divide couscous between four bowls. Add chicken slices, a dollop of yogurt sauce and a sprig of herbs.
Coming Tomorrow:
Cumin Toasted Tortilla Chips and Pantry Hummus

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

This looks delicious! And I love that it's fast! All of your coming attractions sound so good! And I can't wait to see and try more!

Jenny said...

Mmmmm, this sounds like my kind of dinner! Looks great!

Sophie said...

wowwee! 20 minutes? That's wonderful :). This sounds like a yummy exotic dish; will save this recipe! Keep the 'quick dinner' recipes comin' :D.

Sherry Trifle - Lovely Cats said...

Great looking dish - will try it.

Marie Rayner said...

that look so yummy Prudy! I love North African food and I have all the ingredients I think! Thanks for what looks to be a delicious recipe!

Camilla said...

This looks FABULOUS Prudy--so many of my favorite flavors.

Lore said...

This dish is full of terrific flavours that I love but never used in the same dish. On the top of this: it's fast and affordable so I must try it to get a taste of what I've missed.
Thanks for your delicious contribution Prudy!

Anonymous said...

Sherry - If you would like to substitute cloves with catnip that would work too if you want some of your little four legged friends to join you for dinner.

Jan said...

I will have to give that a go - it looks delish!

Jaime said...

yum! i would love to try this on a weeknight! need to make sure i get all the ingredients on my next shopping trip....

Anonymous said...

I love couscous. Our local publix has some promotion going where where they sampled some curry coucous with apple turkey sausage. it was delish.

Dragon said...

It's hard to believe something so beautiful only took 20 minutes. Thanks for the great recipe!

qwanty said...

I made this tonight and it was fabulous! I followed your chicken recipe exactly, but substituted quinoa (with sauteed red peppers and tiny garden tomatoes) for the couscous, and minced green onion and goat cheese for the mint and feta in the yogurt. Everyone (including the little ones -- 12, 4, and 1) loved it! Yay!