A few years ago, my mom went to CM to buy some cous cous for a party and was told that they no longer made it. She cried all the way home. Recently, my Aunt Debie asked if I could try and re-create it. I promised to try but wasn't hopeful considering that it had been a few years since I'd eaten it. Part memory and part Internet research helped me create a pretty good representation. Not only was my family happy to have the salad back again but a member of my extended family, who is a fairly picky eater, braved something new and was pleasantly surprised. She even asked me to blog the recipe so she could make it at home. :o)
Make this salad a day ahead of time as the flavors really blend well when it has time to sit. We have traditionally eaten this salad cold but my sister likes to eat hers heated up slightly, and as it turns out, it's good both ways!
Curried Chicken Cous Cous
Roughly 1lb raw chicken
1/2t garlic powder
2t curry powder, divided
1/2-2/3c orange juice
1/2 cucumber
2 green onions
1/2 bunch parsley
1c cous cous
1 1/4 cups chicken stock
1/2c golden raisins
1/2c dried cranberries
1T olive oil (or coconut oil)
1/8t ground cinnamon
1/8t ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste
Chicken:
Clean and trim the chicken and chop it into small bite sized pieces. Slightly bigger than a dice. I used chicken fingers, but any chicken meat will do. Place chicken in a bowl and season with salt, pepper, garlic powder and 1t of curry powder.
Toss chicken to evenly distribute seasoning/spices. Pour orange juice over chicken and stir to moisten all the chicken. I used slightly more than a pound of chicken so I had use a little more OJ. You want your chicken wading, not drowning in OJ. Marinate chicken while you complete the next steps.
Additions:
Seed cucumber by running a spoon down the center. Do not peel unless you're emphatically anti-peel. (I used an English cucumber, or hothouse. Just a personal preference. Feel free to use regular cucumbers.) Dice and set aside.
Slice green onion bulbs in half and then dice the white and green parts. Set aside.
Finely chop parsley and set aside.
Rough chop golden raisins and cranberries and set aside.
Cous Cous:
In a medium sized pot, bring chicken broth, 1t curry and a dash of salt to a boil. Remove from heat and add the cous cous and both fruits. Stir to incorporate, put a lid on the pot and let it sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove lid and fluff cous cous with a fork. Transfer cous cous to a bowl and set aside.
In a sauté pan (or in the same pot you cooked your cous cous in), heat oil over medium high heat and add chicken. Thoroughly cook chicken. (This will not take long if you've diced your chicken. Try not to over cook it.)
Drain chicken and add to the bowl of cous cous. Also add the remaining vegetables and cinnamon and nutmeg. Toss to incorporate.
Refrigerate overnight and serve as a side dish or light main course. This dish can be made vegan buy using vegetable broth and either eliminating or substituting tofu for the chicken.
