one pot chicken couscous

i had some friends coming to town last week which meant there would be no cooking during the week. to avoid the work commissary, i decided to try a big one pot meal that would take care of me for a few days.

i found this tasty (looking at least) recipe from brit + co (click for original post and recipe)

saturday after pilates i grabbed a water and headed to the central market hall, the largest market in budapest, which i hadn't visited yet.

it goes on forever

the market has so many vendors. i took a full lap to get a good look as the missing elements for my dish: chicken, lemons and peppers.

it's all so good

back to the cooking. i managed to find a 26 cm (3.5 liter) pot at auchan supermarket. it's not a le creuset brazier, but it did the trick and only cost about $20. it also has a beautiful grey speckled stone finish.

how huge are those peppers!

all i lacked from the original was a pomegranate, which i'd eaten so much of at work, i decided to forgo for a meal.

it was hard to find "skin on" chicken breast that was also "boneless" so i opted for just skinless. i also went with 2 breast rather than 4 because the cuts the butcher gave me were massive. i'll definitely be going back to her. i have an irrational fear of under cooked chicken so i cooked the breasts a bit longer, and double checked to core temperature with a digital meat thermometer.

add all the flavor

the prep work for this meal was pretty easy. be careful chopping the chillies, i got a bit of juice up my nose, didn't feel great. i haven't been able to find pre-minced garlic or onions in budapest. i did purchase a garlic crushers from ikea and it's changed my life!

while the onions are cooking, prepare the chicken broth.

it's chicken stock, honest

if you've been here long enough, you'll know my love of trader joe's for all my shopping in los angeles. i firmly believed if they didn't have it, i didn't really need it. i frequently purchased their cartons of vegetable and chicken stocks. this is not an item available in budapest. it's either a dry cube or a gel like pod. the pod seemed more appealing to me.

dissolved in boiling water, yum...

add the hot chicken stock, mix it all together

add the chicken stock

add the couscous

cover and simmer

nearly done

fluff it up

best meal i've ever made

this was one of the easiest meals i've made, and the tastiest. i frequently how much something as simple as lemon can really kick up the flavor. the chillies weren't terribly hot. i like spicy and they were pretty mild. it kept well and reheated nicely for the next 3 days worth of lunch.