Most of the time when I cook, I riff. This is thanks to years of following recipes, of learning the rules before I started to break them.
Still, whenever I’m stuck in a cooking rut, I turn back to the written words and measured amounts of people who are more skilled than I am. Often, what I take away is not a full-blown recipe but a single technique that forever changes the way I riff going forward.
A case in point is the method I use for making couscous in my recipe for chicken skewers with lemony couscous. It comes via Nik Sharma, a very talented cook and cookbook author. In chicken koftas with lime couscous, a recipe he published in the New York Times several years ago, Sharma makes his version with lime juice, an addition to the cooking liquid that elevates it from one-dimensional to mouth-puckering in the space of a few minutes. Every time I prepare it, I eat it spoonful after spoonful.
Here, I went with Sharma’s approach but swapped used lemon instead of lime. I also pared down his process overall to make it less expensive (he uses pine nuts in his couscous, for example) and to require a little less effort — more how I’m inclined to make dinner for myself after a busy day. But I promise: The lemon juice is a game-changer.
To make my dish, soak 3 wooden skewers in a tray, quarter sheet pan, or rimmed dinner plate. (If you’re using metal skewers, you can skip this part.)
In a medium bowl, make a marinade by whisking together 2 tablespoons of full fat yogurt, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, ¼ teaspoon of cumin, ¼ teaspoon of smoked paprika, ¼ teaspoon of garlic powder, ¼ teaspoon of onion powder, and some cracked black pepper. If you’re using Greek yogurt, which is thick, stream in a tiny bit of water and whisk again, repeating until you get a coatable consistency. (You don’t want it to be runny, but it also shouldn’t be a gloopy mess.) Set the bowl aside.
Cut 2 boneless, skinless chicken thighs into approximately 1½ -inch-thick strips. (You’ll eventually thread these pieces over the skewers, like a clothing stitch.) Add them to the marinade, toss to coat, cover, and set in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour. The acid in the yogurt both tenderizes the meat — so you end up with succulent pieces — and helps facilitate a deep char on the outside when it hits the high heat of your pan.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, whisk together a scant ¼ cup of yogurt and ½ teaspoon of lemon juice. Grate in half a small clove of garlic (less if you have a big guy). Again, if you’re using Greek yogurt, add in a tiny amount of water at a time, whisking in between, until you get a sauce consistency that you like. Salt to taste and set aside.
Slice 3 scallions crosswise into rounds. The whites can be a bit thicker, the greens a bit thinner. Set some of the greens aside for topping at the end. Chop 1 small bell pepper, or half of a large one, into bite-size pieces.
As someone who does her best not to waste food, I’ll note here: This will leave you with three extra scallions (there are almost always six in a bunch) and, in some cases, half of a bell pepper. The scallions can easily be used later, subbed in most anywhere a dish calls for some onion. Figuring out what to do with the extra bell pepper is admittedly more annoying, but I think the vegetable brings a lovely sweetness to the final plate. If you are left wringing your hands, you can simply leave it out or snack on it between now and dinner.
Once the chicken has marinated for close to an hour, make the couscous. Measure ½ cup of couscous, ½ cup of water, and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small saucepan set over medium high. Throw in the scallions (except those you set aside for topping) with a generous pinch of salt and let them sizzle, soften, and take on a little bit of color; this should take about two minutes. Add the water, turn up the heat to high, and wait for it to boil. (This should be very quick.) Throw in the couscous and lemon juice, stir, turn off the heat, and cover the saucepan with a lid. This will sit until you’re ready to eat.
Now, thread the skewers, rotating between the pieces of chicken and a couple of pieces of pepper at a time. There is no science to this; I like to go back and forth among the three skewers, rather than completing one at a time, so I can ensure they’re evenly packed in the end.
Heat a thin coating of olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch cast-iron skillet over medium heat for a few minutes. Don’t skip this part. You want it to be super hot so that the skewers actually char, like they would on a grill. When you see glossy oil, and even light wisps of smoke, you’re there.
Place the three skewers into the skillet and cook for 12 to 15 minutes, rotating every few minutes with tongs, until the chicken is deeply browned all around and even slightly blackened in spots. If you notice the color coming too intensely too quickly, turn the burner down a smidge.
When the chicken is done, plate it alongside the couscous, drizzle everything with the yogurt sauce, scatter the remaining scallion greens over top — and taste how adapting just one idea from the pros can make you a better cook.
Emma Wartzman is the kitchen and dining writer at New York magazine’s the Strategist.
