Curried Chicken Cous Cous

This recipe is not really an original, but it is definitely a memory re-creation.  Many years ago my mom brought home Spicy Chicken Cous Cous from Central Market for a party.  It was a HUGE hit. Spiciness from curry mixed with sweetness provided by golden raisins.  For MANY years, this "salad" was a staple at any family get together and occasionally just as a weekend treat.

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.

Beyond Boring Chicken Salad

I was never really a fan of chicken salad.  It's not that I disliked it, it was more indifference.  It was bland.  Just... meh.  Then some years back I experienced chicken salad unlike I'd ever had.  Curried chicken salad.  The curry powder added to the mix completely blew my mind.  I was hooked!  Now whenever I see curried chicken salad on a menu, I have to have it.  Especially if it has grapes.  The sweet element that the grapes provide is really accentuated by the spiciness of the curry.  Plus, even though it has a creamy sauce, it still feels like a light, springy/summery meal.  To aid in that I sub some of the mayo with plain Greek yogurt.

Curried Chicken Salad (makes 2 servings)
1 boneless, skinless, chicken breast (or meat from one thigh and leg)
1 large stalk celery
1T plain Greek yogurt
1T mayonnaise (light or regular, your choice)
10-15 grapes, quartered
Curry powder, salt and pepper to taste

Fine dice chicken and place in a medium sized mixing bowl.

Clean and de-rib your celery.  De-ribbing can be accomplished by peeling the back of the stalk with a vegetable peeler or snapping your celery into sections and yanking out the exposed ribs.  This prevents those long stringy bits from cramming themselves between your teeth!  Fine dice the celery and add it to the chicken.

Add the yogurt and the mayonnaise to the bowl.  If you like your chicken salad with more/less dressing, you can add/subtract from this amount but 1T each is a good starting point if you've never made this before.  I like to have equal parts of both, because the yogurt lightens it up some but the mayo does have a fantastic tangy flavor that I would miss if I used yogurt solely.  Feel free to adjust or eliminate one or the other as you see fit.

Add grapes to the bowl.

Sprinkle mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper and start with just a couple dashes of curry powder.  I like a lot of curry, so I tend to do more than a couple of dashes but it's a strong flavor so start light and you can always add later.

Mix all ingredients until incorporated.  Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary.

For the lightest option, chicken salad can be mounded on a lightly dressed bed of lettuce or in individual lettuce cups.  Then there's the sandwich route.  I purchased some wonderful seed bread that was just dying to become a sandwich.  Chicken salad is also perfect with croissants.  Oh, light, buttery, flaky croissants (...drool).

Yummy, yummy lunch!

If you require some additional crunch/nutritional punch, you can also had a palm full of chopped nuts of choice.  Enjoy!