A few weeks ago a friend suggested Tyler Florence’s Brick Chicken with Apricot Couscous. Sure sounded yummy to me! I didn’t have the things on hand that are used in this recipe so I made several changes to go with what I did have. This is a pretty fast and very tasty recipe. It uses a lot of spices and this lends to a very full bodied flavor. I will add when my husband and children were watching me make this they laughed because of the process but there were no complaints when it came to eating it!
Ingredients:
2 large chicken breasts, bone in with or without leg
2 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp white pepper
1 tbsp ground corriander
1/2 tbsp hot paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 lemon juiced
Ingredients for sauce:
1 cup of greek yogurt drained
1-2 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp honey
shake of salt and pepper
Ingredients for Couscous:
1 cup of whole wheat couscous
3-4 apricots chopped into small pieces
1/4c chopped nut of your choice (pistachio or almond works good)
1/2 c chicken stock/ 1/2 c water
lemon zest
salt and pepper
Directions
Mix the spice mixture with the lemon juice to make a paste (you may need to add a little olive oil if it is very dry). You can use either chicken with the skin on or removed – I always take the skin off but it’s a matter of what you prefer. Coat the chicken breasts in the spice mixture. You can marinate them in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. But if you’re short on time they can go right into the pan. Use a large skillet pan or a grill pan to cook the chicken. Place in breast side down. Tyler uses a brick but I don’t have any of those lying around so I used my very heavy duty le crueset soup pan on top instead. The point is to use something that is heavy enough to push down the chicken sealing in the flavors as well as cooking it more quickly. While it is cooking you can prepare the sauce by simply mixing all of the ingredients together.
This is also a good time to start cooking the couscous. I need to insert here that I am not a fan of instant couscous. Once you have eaten real couscous instant does not cut the mustard. But it works alright in this. Cook the couscous according the package instructions. I use half water and half chicken stock when making it for extra flavor. I also use olive oil instead of butter to keep the grains from sticking together. While this is setting up go ahead and chop up the apricots and nuts. When it’s cooked (about 5 minutes), mix in the apricots and nuts. I like to add a little salt and pepper, cumin and a pinch or hot paprika but that’s is totally optional.
Check on your chicken and flip it over. It probably will take about 20 minutes on the stove to cook through, but it will depend on the thickness of the chicken you are using. I’m not going to say how long, just keep checking, using a meat thermometer if you’re unsure if it’s cooking through. When it’s cooked, plate the couscous, with a chicken breast on top and use the yogurt sauce as a condiment.
Enjoy!!
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