An old culinary saying is that eat with your eyes first. Well, this dish certainly delivers from first glance thanks to the colorful blood oranges, green herbs, and bright garlic aioli drizzle. So, without further ado . . .
BLOOD ORANGE & HARISSA CHICKEN SKILLET
Servings: 6 people
Time: 35 minutes, plus 1 hour for marinating
Ingredients:
2 pounds chicken breast, cut into 1" pieces
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1 box (about 5.8 oz) of dried couscous
1 (15 ounce) can of chickpeas
3/4 cup golden raisins
1/3 cup red harissa paste
1/4 cup pistachio or hazelnuts (I like both versions!)
3 blood oranges
1 white onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
4 tbsp butter, divided
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Herbs including mint, parsley, and dill for topping
For the sauce:
1/4 cup sour cream
1/3 cup milk
2 tsp garlic powder
Directions:
In a large Ziploc bag, combine the harissa paste, cumin, salt, coriander, cinnamon, and black pepper; mix well together. Add the chicken pieces to the bag, and squish them around until the pieces are fully coated. Marinate the chicken for an hour at room temperature. (You can marinate longer if needed, but do so in the fridge. Take the chicken out half an hour before cooking to bring up to room temp.)
In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat two tablespoons of butter. Once melted, remove the chicken from the bag and add it to the skillet with a pair of cooking tongs. Cook the chicken until browned, turning once, about 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the chicken and place onto a plate, tenting with foil to keep the chicken warm.
Slice two and a half of the blood oranges and add the slices to the skillet, adding another tablespoon of butter to the pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for about 3 minutes or until soft and fragrant. Remove from the pan and add it to the plate with chicken. Keep tenting the plate with foil.
Add the last tablespoon of butter and chicken stock to the pan and bring it to a boil. Stir in the chickpeas and couscous. Cover the skillet and remove it from the heat. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, so that the couscous absorbs the liquid.
Meanwhile, mix the sour cream, milk, and garlic powder together. Add salt and pepper if desired.
Once the couscous has absorbed all the stock, fluff it with two forks and mix in the nuts, golden raisins, juice of remaining half orange, and dried dill. Top with the chicken/onion/garlic/orange slice plate and toss. Drizzle the garlic sauce, and add some fresh herbs. I love mint in particular.
Enjoy!
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