Butternut Squash Tagine with Pistachio Couscous

There's nothing The Gastronomer appreciates more than coming home to a stellar meal after a grueling day at the office, so I'm always on the lookout for simple, delicious recipes for weeknight dinners. Our subscription to Cooking Light (a Christmas present from my mom last year) has been an excellent resource for this. To be honest, this one was pushing it in terms of intricateness (I'm not the most efficient cook--see the time estimates accompanying each post), but it was a great opportunity to finally use our unopened cumin and paprika, and it turned out fantastically.

Recipe by Cooking Light, November 2009

For Butternut Squash Tagine

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 8 ounces peeled cubed butternut squash
• 1/3 cup halved pitted picholine olives (about 3 ounces)
• 8 pitted dried plums, chopped
• Fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves (optional)

For Pistachio Couscous

• 3/4 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 3/4 cup uncooked couscous
• 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
• 1/4 cup chopped pistachios
  

Make Butternut Squash Tagine

Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 8 minutes or until golden, stirring occasionally. Stir in cumin and next 7 ingredients (through chicken); cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Stir in broth, squash, olives, and dried plums; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 minutes or until squash is tender. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Make Pistachio Couscous

Bring chicken broth to boil in a small saucepan. Add couscous; cover and remove from heat. Let stand 5 minutes; fluff with a fork. Stir in grated lemon rind and pistachios.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/4 cups)
Estimated Start-to-Finish Time: 30 minutes
Actual Start-to-Finish Time: 2 hours
Substitutions: I left out the chicken and doubled the butternut squash, and I left out the turmeric because we didn't have any.