Chicken Couscous with Vegetables
Always looking for balanced and light dishes to follow the diet suggested by my nutritionist. Since I’m not particularly fond of rice, I decided to prepare a nice couscous with chicken and vegetables.
I love couscous — a versatile ingredient that can be combined with meat, fish or vegetables. It really goes well with everything!!!
And let’s not forget that couscous is also extremely quick to prepare if you use the precooked variety.
Just soak it in boiling water and it’s ready in 5 minutes, so it’s perfect for when you’re in a hurry and maybe don’t feel like spending much time at the stove but still want an inviting, healthy and balanced dish.
In today’s version we’ll prepare it with chicken breast and vegetables.
It’s also delicious eaten cold, for example to take in your lunchbox to work.
- Difficulty: Very easy
- Cost: Inexpensive
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Cooking time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 2
- Cuisine: Moroccan
- Energy 536.30 (Kcal)
- Carbohydrates 42.71 (g) of which sugars 11.23 (g)
- Proteins 55.56 (g)
- Fat 16.54 (g) of which saturated 2.74 (g)of which unsaturated 1.28 (g)
- Fibers 7.18 (g)
- Sodium 1,448.94 (mg)
Indicative values for a portion of 400 g processed in an automated way starting from the nutritional information available on the CREA* and FoodData Central** databases. It is not food and / or nutritional advice.
* CREATES Food and Nutrition Research Center: https://www.crea.gov.it/alimenti-e-nutrizione https://www.alimentinutrizione.it ** U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups precooked couscous (precooked)
- 3/4 cup water (boiling (about 200 ml))
- 1 tsp ground turmeric (1 teaspoon)
- salt (a pinch)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 14 oz chicken breast
- 3/4 cup frozen peas
- 3.5 oz bell pepper (red or yellow)
- 3/4 cup cherry tomatoes (cherry, datterini, or beefsteak)
- 1 spring onion (scallion)
- 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- to taste salt
Tools
- 1 Skillet
- 1 Bowl
Steps
Place the precooked couscous in a large bowl and season with 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of salt and the turmeric, mixing everything with a spoon.
Then cover with the hot water, seal with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 5 minutes (check the times indicated on the package as they may be longer).
After resting, transfer the couscous to a large plate or tray and fluff it thoroughly with the tines of a fork.
Now take care of the vegetables.
Cut the cherry tomatoes into small wedges.
Wash the bell pepper, remove the stem and white membranes, and cut it into small pieces.
Trim the zucchini ends and cut them into cubes.
Clean the spring onion and chop it coarsely.
Bring the peas to a boil (I used frozen ones).
Separately, in a large skillet heat 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil with 1 garlic clove, peeled but left whole, for about a minute.
As soon as the oil is fragrant, remove the garlic and add the spring onion, zucchini, bell pepper, tomatoes and the peas, which will have cooked in the meantime. Taste and adjust the salt.
Let’s move on to the chicken breast. Cook it on a hot grill/plate (or a nonstick skillet) together with the bell peppers; it will take about ten minutes (roughly 5 minutes per side) for the chicken breast to be fully cooked.
When ready, place the bell peppers in a large bowl along with the couscous, the chicken sliced into strips, the tomatoes and the rest of the vegetables (boiled peas, spring onion, zucchini).
Adjust salt if necessary.
If you are not following a low-fat diet, dress the couscous with an extra tablespoon of olive oil. Finish the dish with some parsley and a few basil leaves.
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TIPS
This is the couscous version with vegetables and chicken — of course you can replace the chicken with red meat or with fish and shellfish.
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STORAGE
You can store the chicken couscous with vegetables in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 days. This recipe is not suitable for freezing.
OTHER ONE-DISH RECIPES
Below are some recipes prepared following the advice of my nutritionist
These are balanced dishes that contain carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables with little fat and can be considered complete one-dish meals
