Lime-Cilantro Chicken over Cauliflower Couscous

Philly is well known for its delicious foodtrucks. The city’s filled with them, and they provide wonderful alternatives to more expensive sit-down places. They’re also a great way not to get bored with your daily meals, as there are so many to choose from, all specializing in different types of food. On my campus specifically, there isn’t a single truck without a long line between 11:30-3. It always amazes me. Though the options are very varied, one of the most classic foodtruck “specialty”, or staple recipe, here is “grilled chicken over rice”. So all-in-all a pretty standard meal that’s sure to be filling, and well worth the $5. But it would be a mistake to generalize and say that all types of “chicken over rice” are the same. Some trucks definitely take pride in coming up with super creative sauces, add-ins, rice bases, or even chicken preparations. It’s actually pretty fascinating how many options are offered in about a 5 min walk radius from all of my classes. Even within one truck, there’s usually a ton of different combinations you can come up with. Anyways. You get my point: I love foodtrucks! And “grilled chicken over rice”! Which is the starting point to today’s recipe. This is (one of) my take(s) on this dish, with a slight health twist.

I decided to experiment with a lime-cilantro marinade for the chicken and switched things up a bit by replacing rice with cauliflower “couscous”. Adding a raw edge to the dish, and lightening things up a bit. The combination was spot on and very refreshing. As soon as you mix it all together, the flavors come together really nicely. What I also really like about it, is that you absolutely don’t need to let the meat sit in the marinade for hours for it to be super flavorful. You actually only need to coat the chicken pieces for a minute and you’re all set for cooking. Of course it’ll soak in even more flavor if you wait, but I find it to be great right away.

For all you readers who don’t like cilantro, I promise this is the last recipe I’ll post using this herb for now. Truth is not only do I really like it, but I also bought a huge bunch that I have been putting to good use for the past week or so. If it really isn’t your thing, you can probably follow my recipe with basil or rosemary instead. I haven’t tried it yet, but it actually sounds pretty delicious too right now! As always, this blog is about experimenting, and trial-and-error, so I shall try these options very soon! Bon appétit!

Total time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

2-3 chicken strips
1/2 lime, juice
2 tbsp olive oil
a small bunch of fresh cilantro
1/4 cauliflower head (makes about 2 cups of blended raw cauliflower couscous)
sriracha
sea salt and freshly grounded black pepper

Directions:

Prepare the lime-cilantro marinade. In a bowl, whisk together the lime juice, 1 tbsp of olive oil, freshly chopped cilantro and salt and pepper. Cut the chicken strips into small pieces, and coat them with the marinade. You can let them sit in it, or cook them right away.
Bring a pan to high heat, then add the chicken pieces and let them brown a little. When they are colored, lower the heat and let them cook for a few minutes.
Meanwhile, make the cauliflower “couscous”. Add the raw florets in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you get a couscous-like texture.
To serve, start with the cauliflower couscous, top with the lime-cilantro chicken, and drizzle with some sriracha, the remaining olive oil, and some more freshly squeezed lime juice. Garnish with more fresh cilantro, and adjust the seasoning. Enjoy!

Temps total: 15 minutes

Ingrédients:

1 blanc de poulet
1/2 citron vert, jus
2 c.s d’huile d’olive
une petite botte de coriandre
1/4 chou-fleur
sriracha
sel de mer et poivre noir fraichement moulu

Etapes:

Préparez la marinade citron-coriandre. Dans un bol, fouettez le jus de citron, 1 c.s d’huile d’olive, la coriandre fraichement ciselée, et le sel et poivre. Taillez le blanc de poulet en dès et recouvrez bien chaque morceau avec la marinade. Vous pouvez laisser reposer, ou bien cuire le poulet immédiatement.
Faites chauffer une poêle, ajoutez les dès de poulet, et saisissez les de facçon à ce qu’ils deviennent bien dorés. Puis, baissez le feu et laissez encore cuire quelques minutes.
Pendant ce temps, transformez le chou-fleur en “couscous”. Mettez les florets dans le bol d’un robot et mixer jusqu’à obtenir la consistence de petits grains de couscous.
Pour servir, commencez par le couscous de chou-fleur, ajoutez les dès de poulet, un filet de sriracha, l’huile d’olive restante, et un peu de jus de citron vert. Garnissez de coriandre fraîche et rectifiez l’assaisonnement. Bon appétit!