The recipe this week was chosen by Marthe of Culinary Delights. I was really excited about this recipe because (1) it sounded great; (2) it looked incredibly easy (which it was); and (3) I have not eaten or cooked couscous so I was excited to give it a go.
I followed the recipe for the most part. I added more garlic than the recipe called for. Also I used regular spinach because I'm frugal and didn't want to fork out the extra dollar for baby spinach. Besides is there really a difference between spinach and baby spincach (other than the size of the leaves?) Also, I used the entire can of tomatoes in the balsamic sauce, doubled the balsamic vinegar, and added a bit of red pepper, salt and pepper to the sauce as it was cooking. Ok, so maybe I didn't follow the recipe at all!
With respect to the couscous, I used the extra chicken broth to make the couscous and I thought it turned out great (granted, I assume I majorly cheated by using 5 minute couscous!) But once again, having never eaten real couscous, I really didn't figure I would be able to tell the difference!
The result -- I loved the couscous. Its definitely something I will make regularly as a side dish for dinner. The balsamic chicken was just so-so for me. I thought it really lacked flavor. In fact, the only flavor I got from the dish was in the spinach. So, the recipe as a whole was somewhat of a disappointment. I can't wait to see what everyone else thought and what people did to jazz the recipe up a bit.
Thanks Marthe for picking the recipe this week and introducing me to couscous!
I always use more salt and pepper and sometimes more garlic than indicated in the recipes..... And this recipe definetely needed it! Thanks for cooking with me this week!!
ReplyDeleteLooks yummy! I almost always double the amount of garlic called for in a recipe. Sorry you didn't like this one. If you make it again, I would suggest adding the chicken back to the pan while the sauce simmers.
ReplyDeleteDitto on the chicken lacking flavor (according to Ted). But the sauce was great. We used quinoa and it worked well.
ReplyDeleteI think if I didn't flour the chicken it would have been very bland too...when I read the feedback it made me think it would be a good way to add flavor. Glad you liked the couscous and the spinach! I think if you try it again and flour it first, then add it to the sauce it may flavor things up more a bit.
ReplyDeletePS....I never spend the extra money on baby spinach either! ;)
I'm sorry it wasn't a winner. I used some fire roasted tomatoes, and I think that helped kick up the flavor a bit. At least you found a new favorite in the couscous!
ReplyDeleteNot really big couscous eaters ourselves, but it was great with this chicken. The stock/sauce is KEY, I think :)
ReplyDelete-- Nick
It looks so good! I'm with you, I wish I had cooked my chicken in with the sauce a bit so that it would have had a bit more flavor, but it was a fun thing to cook and try!
ReplyDeleteCouscous was a first for me too. So glad it was part of the recipe. I bet that it was wonderful cooked in chicken broth.
ReplyDeleteIsn't it great that couscous cooks so fast! I need to make it more often because it's such a quick fix. I'm sorry that the chicken was bland but I'm glad that you liked the spinach and the couscous.
ReplyDeleteI love couscous and its so versatile too. Great job, it looks delicious. I'm sorry it wasn't all that great for you.
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