By The days are getting longer and the light stays outside later. I like walking home from school when the sky is still bright. This week at school we had to write about what we want to be when we grow up. I wrote "pediatrician in Baton Rouge" and drew a little picture of me in a white coat helping a kid. My teacher said it was very thoughtful. My cheeks got warm but I felt proud.
Monday Mama let me help make the baked chicken all by myself. I seasoned it the way MawMaw showed me — garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and just a pinch of cayenne. It came out good. Daddy ate two pieces and said, "My girl got the touch." Jamal was talking about football tryouts and Kayla kept showing me her new drawings. I wrote the recipe in my notebook with the exact cost: four dollars and twenty-seven cents if you catch the chicken on sale.
On Tuesday I finished my homework fast so I could read one of the medical books from the library. It had pictures of bones and organs. I told Mama I want to know how bodies work so I can fix them when kids get sick. She smiled and said, "Keep that fire, baby."
Saturday at MawMaw Shirley's we practiced sweet potato pie. She let me mash the potatoes and measure the spices. The crust turned out flaky. While it baked she told me stories about her mama's kitchen. I listened hard. When I left she hugged me and said, "You got good hands and a good head. Don't waste either one."
At night I sat on my bed with my notebook open. My cornrows were neat and my face still looks round like a kid's, but inside I feel like I'm growing up a little. I wrote: "Food is more than eating. It's how we take care of each other." I'm only twelve, but I think that's true. I'm not rushing anything. I'm just stirring slow, learning the way MawMaw says.
That Saturday at MawMaw Shirley’s, stirring and measuring beside her, I felt exactly what I wrote in my notebook later—that food really is how we take care of each other. All week I kept thinking about spices, about how a little heat and a little sweetness can sit together in the same dish, and that led me to this Harissa Lime Chicken and Couscous Skillet. It’s bolder than what MawMaw usually makes, but the spirit is the same: good spices measured careful, everything cooked slow and steady in one pan, enough to feed the whole family. I think she’d like it.
Harissa Lime Chicken and Couscous Skillet
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 40 min | Servings: 6
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup harissa paste, plus more for sauce
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 2" chunks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 white onion, chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 3 limes
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 1/2 cups chicken stock, divided
- 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cups dry couscous
- 1 cup golden raisins (optional)
- 1/3 cup toasted pine nuts (optional)
- 1/2 cup plain greek yogurt
- Fresh herbs, such as cilantro, dill, parsley, and/or mint, chopped, to top
Instructions
- Marinate the chicken. In a large, sealable plastic bag, combine the harissa paste, cumin, salt, coriander, cinnamon, and black pepper. Mix well. Add in the chicken breasts and toss to coat. Seal and refrigerate for at least one hour, or overnight.
- Brown the chicken. In a large skillet over medium high heat, heat the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, remove the chicken from the bag and add it to the skillet. Cook the chicken until browned, turning occasionally, about 4 minutes.
- Cook with limes and aromatics. Slice two of the limes and add the slices to the skillet, along with the onion and garlic. Cook until the chicken is cooked through but not dry, about 5 more minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan and set aside. Tent with foil to keep the chicken warm.
- Prepare the couscous. Add the butter and 1 2/3 cups of chicken stock to the pan and bring it to a boil. Stir in the chickpeas, golden raisins, and couscous. Cover the skillet and remove it from the heat. Let sit, covered, for 5 minutes, so that the couscous absorbs the liquid.
- Make the harissa yogurt. Meanwhile, mix the greek yogurt with additional harissa paste, to taste, and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Assemble and serve. Fluff the couscous with a fork and mix in the pine nuts, the juice of the remaining lime, and additional chicken stock, as needed, for moisture. Top with the chicken and then drizzle over the harissa yogurt. Sprinkle with herbs and serve.
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition information not available for this recipe.