MOROCCAN CHICKEN COUSCOUS SALAD
Juicy flavoursome Moroccan chicken couscous salad is an appealing weeknight meal. Pearl couscous provides great texture and extra yum factor!
This meal is delicious hot or cold, making any leftovers perfect for lunch the next day. If you’re not a fan of eggplant, or sick of zucchinis, you can add in any veggies you like. Capsicum and beans would both work well.
MOROCCAN CHICKEN
Juicy flavoursome Moroccan chicken couscous salad is an appealing weeknight meal that is delicious hot or cold. Pearl couscous provides great texture and extra yum factor!
Ingredients
CHICKEN
- 3 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp lemon juice
- 1 1/2 Tbsp Moroccan seasoning
- 1/2 tsp harissa rub
- 1/4 tsp pepper
- 550 g chicken tenderloins (1lb 3oz)
SALAD
- 2 tsp chicken stock
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 2 Tbsp olive oil, divided
- 3/4 cup pearl couscous (150g)
- 2 carrots
- 2 zucchini
- 1 eggplant
- 2 cloves garlic
- 2 large tomatoes
- 1/4 cup roasted almonds (40g)
- 1/3 cup finely grated parmesan (30g)
- 1/4 cup plain, unsweetened yoghurt (60ml)
- 3 Tbsp aioli
- 60 g baby spinach (2.1oz)
Instructions
PREPARE CHICKEN
Shake oil, lemon juice, seasoning, harissa and pepper in a jar. Pour into a shallow dish and add chicken, turning to coat. Place in fridge to marinate while you prepare the salad.
PREPARE SALAD
Dissolve chicken stock powder in boiling water. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous and cook until lightly browned (about 2 minutes). Pour in chicken stock mixture, bring to the boil, then turn heat down to medium-low and cover with a lid. Leave to simmer for 15 minutes, or until liquid has been absorbed and couscous is tender. Remove from heat.
Meanwhile, dice carrots, zucchini and eggplant into small cubes. Crush garlic. Heat remaining tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add carrot, zucchini, eggplant and garlic to pan and cook until lightly browned and tender (5-10 minutes).
While veggies are cooking, cut tomatoes in half, remove seeds and dice the flesh. Roughly chop almonds. Use a fork to whisk together parmesan, yoghurt and aioli.
COOK CHICKEN
Remove cooked veggies into a large bowl and return pan to a medium-high heat. Pan fry chicken (in marinade) until chicken is cooked (8-10 minutes).
SERVE
Add couscous, tomatoes, almonds, spinach and yoghurt mixture to the veggies. Mix well to combine. Portion out onto individual serving plates and top with chicken.
Recipe Notes
WINE MATCH: Try a dry Riesling.
GLUTEN-FREE OPTION: Use gluten-free chicken stock powder. Replace couscous with quinoa or brown rice. Ensure aioli is gluten-free.
INGREDIENT NOTES / SWAPS: If you can’t find harissa rub, leave it out. This meal would work well with lamb leg steaks in place of the chicken. Capsicum could be used instead of eggplant. Mayonnaise can be used instead of aioli.
STORING AND REHEATING: Store chicken and salad separately in the fridge. Both parts of the meal can be eaten cold or reheated in the microwave.
2 Comments
Thanks so much for the recipe – that was amazing! Couldn’t find couscous at the supermarket so actually used hokkien noodles and it was yum!
Thanks Nicole! So pleased to hear you enjoyed this. Great to know that hokkien noodles work well too! 🙂