August 13, 2006

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Recipe: Cinnamon Chicken and Couscous with Dried Fruit

This recipe came originally from Bon Appetit, but was changed a bit to become what it is here. I do not have a good recipe for the lemon and herb marinade that we used, as I just bought what looked good in the store (I used Orr Brothers brand).

Cinnamon Chicken and Couscous with Dried Fruit


Serves 2 people. Cooking time: 35-45 minutes.

The ingredients:

  • 1 lb. of chicken (cut however - we used tenders)
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
  • .5 teaspoon ground ginger, divided
  • 1/2 bottle lemon & herb marinade (or make your own if you have a good recipe, not included here)
  • .5 cup chopped onion
  • .5 cup mixed chopped dried fruits (we used mangos and Turkish apricots)
  • 7 ounces (.5 typical size can) low-salt chicken broth
  • .5 cup couscous
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh mint, divided

The algorithm:
Preheat oven to 375. Place chicken pieces in marinade and sprinkle with .5 teaspooon cinnamon and .25 teaspoon ginger. Heat in ovenproof skillen over medium-high heat until brown (but not cooked through). Turn chicken once and transfer to oven. Roast chicken until cooked.

Saute onions in a separate skillet (or wait and use the drippings from the chicken and marinade to saute in - I am a time-saver, so I saute while chicken is cooking). When onions have browned, add fruit and remaining .5 teaspoon cinnamon and .25 teaspoon ginger. Stir to coat. Add broth; bring to boil. Remove skillet from heat, stir in couscouse and .5 teaspoon mint. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Season couscouse to taste with salt and pepper.

Mound couscous on plates, place chicken atop and sprinkle with remaining mint.

Posted by Cara Bohon at August 13, 2006 9:17 PM | Comments (3) | EatFoo 1.0 Posts


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This recipe looks super quick and delish. Is it Moroccan inspired at all? I've made a Moroccan chicken preparation before where I "smoked" the spices (cumin, cinnamon, clove, pepper) by dry roasting for a few minutes over medium heat and then rubbing it into the chicken. It really gets the spices grooving for their tenderising task ahead.

I have trouble preparing couscous. The grains clump together and it gets all lumpy. Maybe i should throw some butter in there so that they stay somewhat separated.

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at August 16, 2006 12:33 AM


Is the couscous clumpy as in my picture? Because that's how couscous usually turns out for me, no matter if I make it or someone else does. I'm pretty sure it's supposed to be somewhat clumpy...allows for eating with your hands if need be. Perhaps if it's one big clump, it's just a matter of using more broth or water or whatever you are using to soften the grains? I'm not really sure. I am definitely no couscous expert.

And I'm not sure about the origin of the recipe. It was from Bon Appetit in its original form, but you're right that this has some kind of African flair to it. The couscous and the cinnamon/ginger aspect lean that direction.

Posted by: Cara Bohon at August 16, 2006 12:44 AM


Anytime I've had couscous at a restaurant, each grain is fairly separated from the others and I believe that's the "ideal". It's just hard to attain it short of "frying" the couscous in some butter or oil before and then putting in the liquid.

Posted by: Natasha D'Souza at August 16, 2006 3:08 PM

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