One-Pan Chicken with Couscous and Carrots
By Cecelia JenkinsPublished on April 19, 2017
Time
1¼ hours
Yield
Serves 4
Ingredients
Before You Begin
The chicken will crowd the skillet in step 2 but, if left undisturbed, will still brown well. Don’t worry if the skillet lid does not fit snugly in step 4; it will still trap enough heat.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until skin is crispy and golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Flip chicken and continue to cook until golden on second side, 7 to 9 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in chickpeas and water and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in couscous, scraping down any that sticks to sides of skillet. Return chicken, skin side up, and any accumulated juices to skillet, pressing chicken into couscous mixture. Cover, transfer to oven, and bake until chicken registers 175 degrees, about 18 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to clean plate. Add parsley and lemon juice to couscous mixture and fluff with fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up. Serve with lemon wedges.
Time
1¼ hoursYield
Serves 4Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
For a simple yet complete meal in one skillet, we turned to couscous, tiny bits of semolina pasta traditionally used as a sauce absorber beneath North African stews. Couscous cooks in a fraction of the time required for other starches such as potatoes, rice, or larger pasta shapes. We seared eight chicken thighs on both sides to build flavorful browned bits (fond) in the pan and then transferred them to a plate before building the rest of the dish. We added carrots and onions, which released moisture and loosened the browned bits from the skillet. Then we added aromatic garlic and earthy paprika and cumin, followed by chickpeas for added creaminess. Adding just ¾ cup of water kept the couscous from turning gummy. We placed the chicken on top of the couscous mixture to finish cooking in the oven. When the chicken was cooked through, we removed it and fluffed the couscous, adding fresh lemon juice and fresh parsley to brighten up the savory dish.
Before You Begin
The chicken will crowd the skillet in step 2 but, if left undisturbed, will still brown well. Don’t worry if the skillet lid does not fit snugly in step 4; it will still trap enough heat.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Pat chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.
- Heat oil in 12-inch ovensafe skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until skin is crispy and golden, 7 to 9 minutes. Flip chicken and continue to cook until golden on second side, 7 to 9 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to plate, skin side up.
- Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then heat over medium heat until shimmering. Add carrots, onion, 1 teaspoon salt, and ½ teaspoon pepper and cook until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, and cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in chickpeas and water and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits.
- Stir in couscous, scraping down any that sticks to sides of skillet. Return chicken, skin side up, and any accumulated juices to skillet, pressing chicken into couscous mixture. Cover, transfer to oven, and bake until chicken registers 175 degrees, about 18 minutes.
- Transfer chicken to clean plate. Add parsley and lemon juice to couscous mixture and fluff with fork. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Return chicken to skillet, skin side up. Serve with lemon wedges.
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