Monday, August 17, 2009

Grilled Moroccan Chicken and Greek Couscous




We had my wonderful in-laws over for dinner tonight, and I wanted a nice summery meal. It's been years since I've made Moroccan chicken, and though I've made other couscous salads, this one was new to us. We also had grilled corn on the cob and Paula Deen's peach cobbler for dessert. Yum!

Use a charcoal grill if at all possible. The couscous would make a great, healthy lunch. Both recipes are adapted from Recipezaar.
Moroccan Chicken

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup chopped scallion (white part only)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts

1.Combine oil, scallions, parsley, cilantro, garlic, paprika, cumin, salt, turmeric and cayenne pepper in the container of a food processor.
2.Process until smooth.
3.Rub the mixture on both sides of the chicken breasts and let stand 30 minutes.
4.Preheat the grill to medium hot.
5.Grill chicken breasts 5-7 minutes on each side, or until done.

Greek Couscous

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or water
1 cup uncooked couscous (about 1 10 oz. box)
1/2-1 teaspoon dried oregano
4 plum tomatoes, chopped
1-2 cup diced peeled cucumber
3/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup Kalamata olives, halved
1 small red onion, finely chopped
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, well drained (garbonzo beans)

1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons lemon juice
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper (or to taste)
salt (to taste)

1.Bring the 1-1/2 cups chicken broth to a boil in a medium saucepan; stir in the couscous and oregano, remove from heat; cover, and let stand 5 minutes.
2.Fluff with a fork.
3.Combine the couscous with tomatoes and the next 5 ingredients (tomatoes through chickpeas) in a bowl; set aside.
4.Combine 1/4 cup water with the remaining ingredients; stir well with a whisk.
5.Pour over the couscous mixture, tossing gently to coat.
6.Season with black pepper and salt.
7. Drizzle with a little more lemon juice and oil if salad dried out. Serve at room temperature or cold.

3 comments:

Kristen said...

Boy, did Jeff luck out with you!!

Alison... said...

Some day you're going to post a recipe that I would actually attempt!

Kristen said...

doubtful