Sunday Dinner: Couscous with chicken and kale

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: We're down to three people at Casa Hugo-Vidal; me, Youngest (until the end of August) and my delightful temporary lodger, the Very Smart Girlfriend (of the Smithie.) The VSG found a job here in Portland, and had to move fairly quickly to start, but finding an apartment in this overheated market is hard. She's staying with me for a while as she gets her feet under her and gets oriented to southern Maine.

What this means, culinarily speaking, is that I'm getting a bit more adventurous in what I'm cooking these days.  I stocked up on quinoa, rice noodles, bean noodles and couscous, which were NOT pantry staples in the days of three kids plus husband. And this summer, as in the past several years, I'm getting a CSA box every Wednesday loaded with fresh organic veggies I need to figure out some way to use. And by veggies, I mean kale, which will be a staple here until October.

This is an adaptation of a recipe I found on Spark, which I guess is for people who want to lose weight? I don't believe in fat-free, myself, so this dinner has loads of delicious olive and sesame oil. As usual, you can cook it like I do, and substitute anything for anything else. You're a grown-up, right? Don't let a recipe boss you around.

Chicken, couscous and kale salad

1 chicken breast, diced into bite-sized pieces
flour, salt and pepper to coat
Olive oil and sesame oil (I love the flavor of the latter, but you can do all olive oil if you prefer)
1/2 onion, minced
3 garlic cloves OR 3 t pre-minced garlic (I love this stuff!)
1 c pearl (or Israeli) couscous
1 1/4 c chicken broth (I followed the directions for liquid on the container of couscous.)
6-8 leaves of kale cut into thin strips OR a half bag of spinach 
1 T cumin
Juice of 1/2 a lemon OR 2-3 t bottled lemon juice
1 c shredded or flaked parmesan cheese

Toss the chicken bites in the seasoned flour mix and saute them in oil until golden. Set aside and keep warm.

Add more oil to the pan in which you sauted the chicken; add couscous and let it brown for a couple minutes. Add onions, garlic, chopped kale, and cumin. Cook, stirring, until the kale wilts, You may need more oil as you go.

Add chicken broth, cover and bring to a boil. Cook 10-15 minutes, or whatever your couscous container directs.

When the liquid is absorbed and the couscous is tender, squeeze in the lemon juice and toss with the parmesan cheese. Enjoy!

I'm sorry to say I took several photos with Youngest's iphone, and could not get them to load. So you're getting stock photos instead of my actual ingredients. Just as in cooking, we improvise.

What are you making for Sunday dinner, dear readers?