Garlic Marinated Chicken with Israeli Couscous

This dish is a combination of some of my favorite herbs and spices...cumin, red pepper, thyme, and garlic. You can get creative with the ingredients by adding additional vegetables like summer squash or eggplant. You can keep this dish heart healthy by removing as much of the chicken's skin as possible before marinating. This step will decrease the total amount of saturated fat, which your heart will thank you for! Lastly, make sure to use Israeli (aka- Pearl) couscous; the balls of semolina are larger than traditional couscous and add a nutty, chewy texture to eat bite. 

Ingredients- 

Marinade:

2 whole garlic bulbs
1 lemon, zested and juiced
1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves
1 tablespoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

Salt, to taste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 whole chicken, about 3 lb total, 
cut up into 8 pieces (you can do this yourself or buy one pre-cut)

2 cups Israeli or Pearl couscous

Sauce:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and sliced
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 zucchini, cut into 1-inch dice
2-3 cups chicken stock

Garnish:

3 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced

Directions-

Marinade:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Wrap garlic bulbs in tinfoil and roast until soft when squeezed, about 30 minutes. Let cool about 25 minutes.

Once garlic bulbs are cool, slice tops off and squeeze out roasted garlic. Add the garlic to a food processor or a bowl, along with the lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme leaves, cumin, crushed red pepper and salt, to taste. Add olive oil and puree or mash into a loose paste. Remove skins from chicken and massage the mixture over chicken pieces. Let marinate in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

Meanwhile, bring a pot of well salted water to a boil. Add the couscous and boil until half-way cooked, about 3-4 minutes. Drain and reserve.





Remove chicken from refrigerator and season with salt and pepper. Coat a large sauté pan with olive oil and heat to medium-high. Once oil is hot, add chicken to pan and brown on both sides, about 4-5 minutes per side. 

Sauce:
Remove browned chicken to a plate, decrease heat to medium and add the sliced onions. Sauté until onions are soft, about 3 minutes. Add crushed red pepper and continue to sauté an additional 1 minute. Add the white wine (deglaze), scraping up all the brown bits (fond) on the bottom of the pan and simmer onions about 5-7 minutes. 

Stir in the tomato paste and cook for another 2 minutes. Add zucchini, par-cooked couscous, and chicken stock. Stir to combine, then taste and adjust seasoning as needed. 

Transfer the mix to 9x13 baking dish, making sure the chicken is nestled in the couscous. Cover with foil and place on a sheet pan.

Transfer pan to preheated oven and roast for 20 minutes, covered, then remove the foil and roast for another 10-15 minutes.

Garnish with scallions before serving.

Enjoy!