Couscous au Poulet

Or you can always call it chicken couscous , either it’s  Tunisian dish or Moroccan dish .. not quite sure about it . But all i know is , that this dish was delicious . Despite that it’s not that hard to make . Me and my family love couscous , we really enjoy couscous every once in a while . And usually we pair it with some grilled chicken or some fish . Couscous au Poulet , was easy to make , it’s not really hard .. except you need some spices for sure . And if you have saffron , it would be even better , unfortunately i did not have saffron threads on hand .. ( saffron supposed to be very expensive , as expensive as gold !! LOL ) , so i skipped saffron , thankfully , the dish still turned out delicious !

You need :

1 package of whole chicken , or chicken thighs ( i used chicken thighs )

olive oil

2 1/2 tsp. ground ginger

3/4 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1/4 tsp. saffron thread

1/8 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 garlic cloves , minced

6 cups of chicken broth

2 carrots , cut about 2 inches

2 celery stalks , about 2 inches cut

1 medium turnip , quartered

2 leeks , half cut and cut into 2 inches

8 small white onions

1 1/2 cup of quick cooking couscous

1 zucchini

1 can of chick peas , rinsed and drained

In a dutch oven , heat up the olive oil , and then add the chicken , sprinkle with the spices mix all over . Turn the chicken and sprinkle on the other side too . Don’t have to brown the chicken , just cook few minutes , and then add the 6 cups of chicken broth , mix well . Then bring to boil , add the onions , carrot , celery , turnips , leeks , cook about 30 minutes , on simmer , til the chicken is done . Then add the zucchini and chickpeas , cook for extra 5 minutes . Then take out about 3 cups of the broth into a small pot , bring to boil , and then turn the heat off , and add the couscous and then cover and let it sit for 5 minutes .

Serve the couscous with vegetables and the chicken , and harrisa on the side .

Harissa recipe :

6 oz of bird eyes chilis

6 garlic cloves

1/2 tbsp. salt

1/2 tbsp. ground coriander

1/2 tbsp. cumin

1/4 cup of cilantro

Mix this all together in a bowl of food processor , add olive oil if it’s too dry , and mix until it’s mixed well . My harissa wasn’t quite the original harissa because i didn’t have enough birds eye chilis , i mixed the chilis with some of the jalapeno and also sweet pepper too , although it tasted really spicy and delicious !!