Chicken couscous

Serves 2. Takes an hour.

• [ ] 2 chicken breasts (skin-on or skinless)
• [ ] a shallot or half an onion
• [ ] a punnet of mushrooms
• [ ] 2 cups chicken stock

Check your stocks of: butter, olive oil, thyme, couscous, and white wine.

Optional - brine the chicken

1. Put the chicken in a mixing bowl.
2. Cover with 1 tbsp sea salt.
3. Pour over 1L room temp water.
4. Place in fridge for 15 mins to a few hours.

Method 1 - pan fry

1. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts
2. Slice the mushrooms and put them in the wok
3. Add some water to the wok, and a few splashes of Worchestershire sauce
4. Put the wok over medium heat, and cover to steam
5. Pat the chicken dry with kitchen paper
6. Plenty of canola oil in the frying pan; heat it up then lay in the chicken
7. Remove the lid from the mushrooms. When the water boils off, add some oil
8. Sice the onion or shallot. Add it to the mushrooms
9. Flip the chicken when the underside looks brown
10. Prepare 2 cups of chicken stock (ie. heat it up)
11. Check the chicken's internal temperature. It it's 70C then it's done.
12. Put the chicken in a bowl to rest. Dispose of the oil
13. Heat the frying pan back up and then slosh in some white wine
14. Scrape the chicken fond off the bottom of the pan, then pour the fondy wine into the wok
15. Add 1 cup of stock and a bunch of thyme to the wok
16. Increase the heat on the wok to get it bubbling
17. Slice the chicken. Slice at an angle. Just hold it with your hand - it's easier then trying to use tongs
18. Add a bunch of butter, plus any chicken juices from the bowl, to the wok
19. Add some couscous to the remaining stock. A bit less couscous then stock, by volume
20. When the sauce is well reduced, plate up: sauce underneath, chicken on top, couscous by the side

Method 2 - finish in the oven

1. Pre-heat the oven to 230 C.
2. Salt and pepper the chicken breasts.
3. Olive oil in pan, medium heat.
4. Place in chicken skin-down, fry for 5 mins.
5. Peel and dice the shallot.
6. Turn the chicken over, fry for 1 min.
7. Chicken onto a baking tray and into the oven for 15 mins at 230 C fan.
8. Shallots into the pan, fry for a few minutes.
9. Heat a 1/2 cup chicken stock in a saucepan.
10. Measure 1/2 cup couscous into a bowl and mix in some olive oil.
11. Add the stock to the couscous and leave for 10 mins.
12. A glug of wine, plenty of herbs, and a splash of lemon juice into the pan.
13. When shallots are soft, add 25g butter.
14. Chicken out of oven, slice.
15. Pour the chicken juices into the pan with the shallots.
16. Remove the herbs from the pan.
17. Fluff couscous with a fork and serve.