Recipe: Chicken Skewers with Couscous Salad

Chicken Skewers with Couscous Salad

Couscous is a staple throughout North African cuisine and for good reason; its exceptionally versatile and easy to cook with, and contains fewer calories and higher levels of proteins when compared to other grains! Plus – the potassium found within couscous can help regulate blood pressure and assist with fluid balance in the body as well as healthy heart function.

Grains come in and out of vogue, but as far as I am concerned couscous is a mainstay – it never lets me down…

Here I have thrown together a very simple salad and chicken marinade that’s easily prepared away from your own kitchen – so it’s perfect for those weekends away.

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Recipe: Chicken Skewers with Couscous Salad

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  15 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Serves: 4

Ingredients

Chicken Skewers

• 500g boneless chicken breasts, sliced into cubes
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 4 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp honey
• 1 ½ tsp fresh ground ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• A pinch of black pepper
• 1 small deseeded, thinly sliced red chilli
• 1 shallot, finely diced
• Wooden skewers

Couscous salad

• ½ cup chicken stock, brought to the boil
• ½ cup couscous
• ¼ red onion finely diced
• ¼ tsp minced garlic
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• ½ tbsp soy sauce
• 1 generous squeeze of lemon juice
• 1 x generous handful of flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• ½ tsp fresh ground chilli

Instructions

Couscous salad

1. Bring stock to the boil in a saucepan over the grill of your barbecue
2. In a separate bowl combine stock and couscous, cover and stand for 5 minutes. Add a dash of oil and separate grains using a fork
3. Add remaining ingredients, combine well

Chicken Skewers

1. Combine ingredients in a plastic bag, allow to marinate for 4 hours
2. Soak skewers in water for 30 minutes prior to use, this will stop them from catching alight when cooked
3. Thread chicken onto skewers
4. Preheat barbecue
5. Oil hot plate
6. Cook skewers until golden and crisp on each side (approximately 6 minutes each side). Continue to baste with marinade
7. Serve immediately alongside a generous helping of couscous salad! Finish off with fresh chopped parsley

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