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couscous with chicken, pine nuts & currants
My favorite way to have couscous is undeniably when the grains are steamed the long, slow, authentic Moroccan way. But I have to confess: most days, I just don't have the time or inclination to slave over my couscous. This recipe essentially preps the couscous in the quickie method that you're probably used to from the back of the box. With a good amount of fluffing, the couscous ends up reasonably light. But it's the flavors that make this recipe seem special -- that exotic hint of cinnamon, the sweetness of currants. The dish tastes very good hot, but I like nibbling away at the cold leftovers the next day nearly as much.

1 Tbsp. olive oil
2 fat cloves garlic
2 boneless chicken breast halves
scant 1/8 tsp turmeric
couple dashes cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
couple dashes pepper
1/3 cup pine nuts

1 1/4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup currants (or raisins)
1 cup couscous
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbsps. finely chopped scallions

serves 2

1 Chop up the garlic; mince the scallions. Dice up the chicken into ½" cubes.
2 Heat up the olive oil in a skillet; add the garlic and sauté for a minute or two, till the garlic starts to smell good and yummy.
3 Add the chicken and give it a stir to coat thoroughly in oil. Add the turmeric and salt, plus a few generous dashes of cinnamon and pepper.
4 Cook the chicken over medium-high heat. When the outside has mostly turned opaque, add the pine nuts. Continue cooking until the chicken is just cooked through -- do your best not to overcook!
5 While the chicken is cooking, bring the broth to a boil in a small pot. Stir in the couscous and raisins/currants, add 1/8 tsp salt plus a few dashes of ground pepper. Cover and remove from heat; let sit for five minutes. Stir in 1 Tbsp. olive oil and the minced scallions with a fork, then continue using the fork to fluff the couscous.
6 Stir in the chicken and pine nut mixture, and fluff some more. You can serve it hot if you like, but the dish is also good at room temperature.

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