Greek Chicken with Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

Our friend, Ariel, made this recipe for us one night and we've been making it ever since. It has become nearly a weekly staple at our house because it is so easy and so tasty. Even if you're not a fan of or familiar with couscous, give it a try with this recipe--it fits juuuust right.

Greek Chicken with Couscous and Yogurt Sauce

Ingredients:

4 Chicken breasts (or 1 lb of 26-30 ct shrimp*)
1 cup of couscous
1 cup of chicken broth or stock

Marinade:
1/3 cup of lemon juice
1/3 cup of olive oil
1/4 cup of white wine
6 cloves of garlic
2 bay leaves

Yogurt sauce:
1 1/2 cup of plain lowfat yogurt
2 Tablespoons of minced cilantro
1 teaspon of crushed cumin seeds
1 clove of garlic, minced
Salt to taste (usually about 1 teaspoon of kosher)

Cooking instructions:

We usually prepare the marinade in a large ziploc bag...basically, just add all the ingredients and then throw in the chicken and marinate for 30 minutes to an hour. (You can marinade for up to 4, but past that isn't a good idea because of the lemon juice...it tends to "cook" the chicken).

To make the yogurt sauce, simply combine all of the ingredients and stir; refrigerate for 15 minutes. (Note: As much as we love the Costco-style minced garlic for other recipes, this recipe really needs the fresh garlic clove. It's worth the few minutes of extra effort, and same goes for the cilantro.)

When the chicken has finished marinating, grill it on the barbecue or in a skillet until done (7-10 minutes). In the meantime, bring the chicken broth/stock to boil in a medium saucepan, add the couscous and stir until the broth is absorbed. Fluff the couscous with a fork and cover until ready to serve.

To serve: Plate the chicken and couscous. Spoon the yogurt sauce over both. Eat and enjoy. We like to serve this with arugula or spinach salad.

*We also make this recipe with shrimp if we're not in the mood for chicken, or in too much of a hurry to marinate. To substitute the chicken for shrimp, eliminate the marinade ingredients and simply sautee the shrimp in a skillet with olive oil, garlic, and a little bit of kosher salt for 2-3 minutes on each side.

Serves: 4