Monday 29 August 2011

Squash, Chicken and Couscous one pot - A Random Recipe

I've been a bit rubbish with blogger challenges recently, I start off the month with all the best intentions then before I realise, it's the next month and I've missed it again. Not this month however, this month I was determined..





Dom challenged us this month to go back to basics with the original random recipe challenge of simply picking a cookbook at random then randomly picking a recipe from that book. Now I have a slight confession to make the recipe may have been random but the book usually wasn't, its hard to shuffle cookbooks (that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it).
so to make this month properly random, I decided to use the ever growing pile of Good Food Magazines building up in the corner. I grabbed an handful and randomly shuffled through them (much easier). I landed on the August 2011 issue and landed on page 48-49, I then closed my eyes and randomly dropped a coin on the pages to pick a recipe. so I give you.......


Squash, Chicken and Couscous one pot
Ingredients
2 Tbsp Harrisa paste
1 Tsp each of ground Cumin and Coriander
2 red onions, halved and cut into thin wedges
2 skinless chicken breasts, bite sized chunks
1 small butternut squash, chopped into bite sized pieces, no need to peel
2 X 400g Tins of tomatoes
zest and juice of 2 Lemons
200g Cherry Tomatoes
140g Couscous
small bunch of coriander

Method
Heat a large non-stick casserole dish or pan on the hob.
Add the harissa, spices and onions, stir and cook gently for 10 minutes until soft.
Add the chicken and brown for 5-10 minutes.
Add squash, stir to combine, add a splash of water if it starts to stick.
Cook for a further 5 minutes.
Tip the canned tomatoes in with 1/2 can of water, cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes.
Add the lemon zest and juice, cherry toms, couscous and seasoning.
Cover and turn off the heat, leave on the hob for 10 minutes, then stir through the coriander and serve.

Verdict
A very nice one pot dish. I altered the recipe a bit, substituting chicken breasts for thighs (cheaper/tastier) and I used Pomodorino Tomatoes instead of Cherry Tomatoes. The recipe states to not bother peeling the squash, personally I would, but that's just me, also next time I may add a little less lemon. This is also rather nice cold the next day so good for pack lunches etc...

1 comment:

  1. Looks just like the kind of chicken dish I would make myself. Really nice and thanks for taking part. I don't mind a little cheating as long as it's random!

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