Italian Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Israeli Couscous

Going back through my freezer, I found a pack of bone-in chicken thighs; I also had a big pack of sweet peppers that I was pretty sure wouldn’t make it to Friday, despite my best attempts to pack them into lunches.  It was time for another kitchen experiment!  I could have made chicken cacciatore, but I lacked any instant polenta and wasn’t in the mood for stirring cornmeal for 45 minutes.  Roman-style chicken was also out since we ate the last of the bacon over the weekend.

So I made up my own chicken recipe.  I used a mirepoix of carrots, celery and onions along with a red and yellow pepper.  I had some white wine in the fridge; canned tomatoes and chicken stock in the pantry.  I figured I’d boil some pasta as a side, but while I was preparing the dish, my husband Kurt suggested I throw in some Israeli couscous at the end like I do with another dish.  Thus was born a new one pot meal!

Italian Chicken with Sweet Peppers and Israeli Couscous

• 5 bone-in chicken thighs, skin and visible fat removed
• olive oil for browning
• 1/2 medium onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped into 1/2 in chunks
• 1/2 c white wine
• 1 c chicken broth or stock
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 tsp dried parsley
• 3/4 c Israeli couscous
• salt and pepper

Here we go:

Chop the vegetables.  Remove the skin and fat from the chicken thighs and season generously with salt and pepper.

Prep the veg

In a large sauté pan, heat oil over medium high heat.  When hot, add chicken thighs and brown.  Remove to a plate or bowl and set aside.

Browned = Flavor

In the same sauté pan, add the celery, carrots and onion.  Cook until softened and slightly brown.  Add the wine and herbs to deglaze the pan.

Scrape up all the browned bits!

Add the chicken stock and tomatoes, stirring to combine.

Stir and scrape up any remaining bits

Add the peppers and bring to a simmer.

Beautiful sauce!

Add the chicken thighs, pushing them down into the sauce as much as possible.  Pour in any accumulated juices as well!

Don’t forget to add the chicken juices!

Simmer for 20 minutes, partially covered.  After 20 minutes, add the couscous, stirring it into the liquid.  Cover again and continue cooking til couscous is tender.

Make sure the couscous is in the liquid– it is PASTA, after all!

Let stand for 10 minutes, correct for seasoning, then serve.

Thicker than soup, but not quite a stew…I love it when my experiments work out!