Chicken And Couscous With Fennel And Orange

Total Time: 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (tenderloins removed and breasts trimmed and pounded to a uniform 1/2-inch thickenss)
• 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
• salt & fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup olive oil (divided)
• 1 medium onion, sliced thin
• 1 fennel bulb, trimmed, cored and sliced thin
• 1 cup couscous
• 3 medium garlic cloves, minced
• cayenne pepper
• 1 cup orange juice (divided)
• 3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth
• 1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro leaves (divided)

Recipe

• 1 place the flour in a shallow dish. pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. working with 1 chicken breast at a time, dredge in the flour, shaking off the excess.
• 2 heat 2 tbs of the oil in a 12 inch nonstick skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. carefully lay the chicken breasts in the skillet and cook until well browned on the first side, 6-8 minutes.
• 3 flip the chicken breasts over, reduce the heat to medium and continue to cook until the thickest part of the chicken is cooked through at the thickest part, about 6-8 minutes longer. transfer the chicken breasts to a plate, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while cooking the vegetables and couscous.
• 4 add 1 tbs more oil to the skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. add the onion, fennel and 1/2 tsp salt and cook until the onion is softened, 5-7 minutes. stir in the couscous, garlic and a pinch cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. stir in the 3/4 cup of the orange juice and broth, scraping up any browned bits. bring to a simmer, cover, and let sit off the heat until the liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes.
• 5 in the meantime, whisk the remaining 5 tablespoons oil, remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, 2 tbs of the cilantro and a pinch of the cayenne together in a small bowl; set aside.
• 6 gently fold the remaining 2 tbs cilantro into the couscous with a fork and season with salt and pepper to taste. drizzle the oil-orange juice mixture over the chicken and couscous before serving.