c/o Gemma Ryan

It brings me such joy when all that is needed to make a delicious meal is one singular pan. The clouds part and angelic music streams from the heavens as I triumphantly approach the sink with minimal carnage. I wash happily under the lingering smell of tomato paste, capers, and onion baptized in chicken fat and confirmed in lemon. The couscous is a holy vessel for their communion. I cannot promise this chicken will absolve you of your sins, but it surely puts up a fight.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 cup pearled couscous (if you can’t find pearled couscous, sub for orzo)
• 1/2 lemon
• 1 tbsp capers
• 1 tbsp caper brine
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• ½ large red onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 block feta
• 2 cups chicken broth
• Olive oil
• Salt & pepper

Instructions

1. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add in chicken thighs skin-side down. Cook for about four minutes, flipping when the skin becomes golden brown, releasing without force from the bottom of the pan. Cook for three more minutes and then transfer to a plate (don’t worry about cooking it all the way through. It will finish cooking with the couscous later).
2. Drain about 1 tbsp of the chicken fat, leaving a generous but non-excessive coating on the pan. Reduce your heat to medium-low and add the thinly sliced red onion, salting and cooking for about five minutes until jammy and slightly browning around the edges.
3. Mince garlic and add to the onions, tomato paste, and red pepper flakes. Let the paste toast for two minutes until brick red.
4. Deglaze the pan with 1 tbsp of caper brine and a squeeze of lemon juice. Let the liquid cook off, around one to two minutes. 
5. Turn the heat back to medium and add in your couscous and capers. Stir to coat and let toast slightly for two minutes.
6. Add in your chicken stock and the rind of the lemon you squeezed earlier. Bring the stock to a boil.
7. Once boiling, reduce to a simmer. Nestle the chicken amid the couscous and cook for about 15 minutes until it has absorbed its cooking liquid and is cooked through. If needed, add more broth or water if the mixture looks dry and the couscous is still al dente.
8. Crumble over some feta, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon.

Gemmarosa Ryan can be reached at gryan@wesleyan.edu.