Za'atar Chicken With Orange Israeli Couscous

Submitted by COOKGIRl

"From a flier at our local supermarket. Substitute regular couscous for the Israeli if you can't find the latter. Also, if possible, please make your own za'atar for this recipe."

 

• Ready In: 37mins
• Ingredients: 16
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, flattened to 1/2-inch thick
• 1⁄4 cup za'atar spice mix
• salt, to taste
• black pepper, to taste
• 4 tablespoons olive oil or 4 tablespoons grapeseed oil, divided
• 1⁄2 cup dry white wine (omit for non-alcoholic version)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 1⁄2 cups israeli couscous
• 1⁄3 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 orange, peeled and segmented
• 1 orange, juice and zest of
• 1 teaspoon cumin seed, toasted and ground
• 1⁄2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped (NOT dried)

• Serve with

• whole wheat pita bread
• tzatziki
• imported olive

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper then rub the za'atar spice on both sides.
3. Heat up half the oil in a large sauté pan and sear chicken well, approximately 4-5 minutes per side until browned on each side.
4. Transfer chicken breasts to oven-proof pan and keep warm. Do not allow the meat to dry out.
5. Return the skillet to the stove top and add the wine to deglaze; boil 1 minute.
6. Add the chicken stock and return to boil.
7. Immediately add the couscous. Cover skillet tightly and remove from heat.
8. Keep skillet covered 5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
9. Meanwhile, in a bowl combine the reserved 2 tablespoons olive oil, orange juice, zest, cumin and cilantro.
10. Stir into the couscous, tossing in the pine nuts and orange segments. Fluff with a fork.
11. Season with salt and pepper to taste, if necessary.
12. Transfer the couscous to a platter and place the chicken breasts on top.
13. Serve with warm pita bread, tzatziki and imported olives.

Reviews

[UmmTariq]

I opted to marinate the flattened chicken breasts in the za'atar before cooking time; omitted the wine. The kids loved the chicken, particularly my za'atar-crazy toddler, but none of us cared for the orange-cumin flavoring of the couscous. I have repeated the chicken a few times.Thank you, Cookgirl!

 

[Sephardi Kitchen]

A great, fast recipe! I had to make a couple small changes-- since the cilantro I thought I had at home turned out to be rotten, I used parsley instead. I also added some portabella mushrooms during the deglazing step. And I cut the chicken into strips and sauteed it with the za'atar instead of coating each piece individually, which saved a lot of time. The oranges went great with the couscous and za'atar chicken-- I will definitely make this again. Thanks for posting! <br/><br/> Made for NA*ME tag.

 

[Stella8037]

This was really good! I had some za'atar that was given to me by a friend from Lebanon, and I was looking for another way to use it. I omitted the wine and used wheat couscous rather than the Israeli style, to increase the fiber content. It was absolutely delicious -- loved the pine nuts, and the colors were beautiful with the orange zest and cilantro.