Recipes Pasta Poultry Veggies

Lemon Poppy Chicken with Sweet Pea and Mint Couscous

Serves 4

This is a really tasty quick meal that you can easily prepare in under thirty minutes. The poppy seeds look like little polka dots. Yum-o!

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups chicken stock, regular or low sodium, divided
1 box frozen peas (10 ounces)
1 1/2 cups couscous
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1 cup flour
Salt and pepper
2 lemons, 2 zested, 1 juiced
1 1/2-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast cutlets, cut into bite-size pieces
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons butter (optional)
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
10 basil leaves, chopped
10 mint leaves, chopped

Place a medium size saucepot over high heat and add 1 1/2 cups of the chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then add the peas and the couscous. Place a lid on the pot and turn off the heat. Let sit for five minutes.
While the stock is coming up to a boil for the couscous, place a large skillet over high heat with three turns of the pan of EVOO, about 3-4 tablespoons.
While the skillet is heating up, place the flour on a plate. Toss the chicken in the flour to coat, shaking off any excess. Add the chicken pieces to the hot skillet. Season the chicken liberally with salt, pepper and the lemon zest, then cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring every now and then to get them brown all over. With a microplane or the smallest grade of a handheld box grater, grate in the garlic the last two minutes of cooking.
Once the chicken has browned, add the remaining one cup chicken stock to the skillet. Once the stock is hot, add the butter and poppy seeds. Stir until the butter has melted and the sauce has thickened up a bit, about one minute. Turn off the heat and squeeze the juice of one lemon into the pan.
Remove the lid from the pot of couscous, then add the basil and mint and fluff with a fork. Place a portion of couscous on a plate and top with the chicken.