This is not an attractive dish, unfortunately. To be honest, at first glance it looked a bit like what one would serve an invalid - something easy to swallow and digest, with a soupy base and bland looking chicken. But it is not. It is absolutely packed with flavor and, if you are an allium lover, this is the dish for you. A side of wilted spinach rather than the green salad I had as an appetizer would work wonders on its appearance, I think!
It is also a very easy and quick dish to prepare, and you can have it on the table in 19 minutes and 46 seconds which, admittedly, is just cutting it as far as joining our 20-minute challenge club goes! Still, a dish worth making.
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1 large white onion, peeled, halved and cut into half moons
3-5 cloves of garlic (up to you) peeled and finely chopped
1 unwaxed, organic lemon, ends removed, halved, and cut into the thinnest half moon slices that your sharpest knife allows you to cut
1 cup plain couscous
1 Tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
Prepare the garlic, onion and lemon.
Add the olive oil to large skillet and add the chopped garlic. Cook, stirring constantly until the garlic is a very light golden. Immediately add the chopped onion and stir well to combine. Salt lightly.
Add the chicken thighs to the pan. Once all of the pieces of chicken have been fitted into your skillet, turn them over so that they have some garlic and onion on what is now their top side. Nestle your lemon slices around the chicken pieces.
Add enough water to just cover the chicken thighs and add about 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the pan. Swirl to melt the salt in the liquid. Make sure your flame is at medium heat and poach your chicken thighs for 15 minutes, uncovered, without touching them.
While the chicken is cooking, pour yourself a glass of wine, set the table, wilt some spinach to go with the dish as discussed above.
As soon as your kitchen timer rings, remove the chicken pieces from the pan. Taste the poaching liquid and add more salt if needed. Add the couscous to the poaching liquid with the cooked allium and lemon and stir well to combine. Place the chicken back in the pan on top of the couscous, cover and leave for 2 minutes.
When you remove the cover, the couscous will have absorbed most of the poaching liquid. The chicken will be moist. The whole dish will be lovely and flavorful.
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