One-Pan Chicken Couscous

From the kitchen of Carly

Moroccan-leaning weeknight dinner: chicken, harissa, dried apricots, and chickpeas all build flavor in one pan, then couscous goes in to soak up the broth. Twenty minutes, one pan, one bowl. Done. Cover the pan tight when the couscous goes in. Steam is what cooks it; a leaky lid leaves you with crunch.

One-Pan Chicken Couscous
Prep
5 min
Cook
15 min
Total
20 min
Servings
4
Difficulty
easy

Ingredients

4 servings

  • 1 tbspolive oil
  • 1yellow onion, chopped
  • 200 gboneless skinless chicken breast, diced
  • 1 thumb-sized piecefresh ginger, grated
  • 2 tbspharissa paste
  • 10dried apricots, halved
  • 220 g (1 can)chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 200 gcouscous
  • 200 mlchicken stock
  • 1 small handfulfresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high.

  2. Add the chopped onion. Cook 1 to 2 minutes until just softened.

  3. Add the diced chicken. Stir to coat in the oil. Cook 7 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and the onions are deep golden.

  4. Grate the ginger directly into the pan. Add the harissa paste. Stir to coat everything and cook 1 minute more, until the harissa darkens and the kitchen smells like a spice market.

  5. Tip in the apricots, chickpeas, and couscous. Stir once.

  6. Pour over the chicken stock. Stir once more, then cover the pan tightly with a lid (or a sheet of foil pinched around the edges).

  7. Pull off the heat. Let stand, covered, for 5 minutes. The couscous absorbs all the stock and softens.

  8. Lift the lid. Fluff the couscous with a fork. Taste and adjust salt.

  9. Scatter cilantro over the top. Serve straight from the pan with a dollop of yogurt and extra harissa for the table.

Substitutions
  • chicken breast to boneless thighs, ground lamb, or extra chickpeas. Thighs are juicier; lamb takes it more North African; chickpea-only makes it vegetarian.
  • harissa paste to 1 tbsp tomato paste + 1 tsp smoked paprika + 1 tsp cumin. DIY harissa-adjacent. Adjust heat with cayenne to taste.
  • couscous to quinoa or bulgur wheat. Quinoa needs 15 minutes simmering, not steaming. Bulgur is the classic Levantine swap and steams the same way.

Pairs well with: A dollop of plain yogurt or labneh on top, A simple green salad with a lemon vinaigrette, Mint tea or a glass of dry rose

Adapted from TheMealDB.