Back in the late '90's we were living in San Antonio. Having found a new all-consuming interest, cooking, I also discovered Central Market. For all foodies out there......TEXAS IS A FOODIE'S VACATION-DESTINATION DREAM!!!! Especially now. When we lived there, Central Market was only in Austin and San Antonio. Even back then, CM was featured on The Travel Channel. Oh my! So worth the trip. By the way, they are now also in the DFW and Houston areas.
Anywho.....CM offers so much. Food demos, classes (with world-famous chefs), and items you could never find in any other market. Well, this was one of their demos. What luck I just happened to be in the store the day this was featured! It became a staple in our home for years. And then, amidst the moves and being apart, I just kind of forgot about it. And then the other day I ran across a similar recipe on-line which triggered my memory and I dug up this CM recipe! And it is just as incredible as I remembered. For the first time ever, I did not serve this on couscous, but made a Quinoa Black Bean Salad to go along with it. And then steamed some broccoli.
The chicken recipe won Ellie Mathews of Seattle, Washington the first prize in a Pillsbury Bakeoff (I don't know what year). It is a fusion of Moroccan and Mexican cuisines. I used two 4 oz chicken cutlets and then halved the rest of the recipe, but am including the recipe in its original format. Although my CM recipe does not indicate number of servings, I'm assuming it is 4, but then, I don't know how much meat is on a chicken thigh (I used breast meat). I hope you'll give it a try!!!!!
MILLION DOLLAR CHICKEN
3 cups hot cooked couscous or rice
1 Tbsp olive or vegetable oil
1/4 cup coarseley chopped almonds
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 chicken thighs, skin removed
1 cup salsa, mild or hot
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp dried currants (I omitted this)
1 Tbsp honey
3/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
While the couscous is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the almonds and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove the nuts from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the garlic to the skillet, stirring, for 30 seconds. (I did not brown my almonds, and I used olive oil cooking spray to saute the garlic, then added the chicken.) Add the chicken and cook, turning once, for 4-5 minutes, until browned (mine took just a few minutes per side since I had thin cutlets).
Combine the salsa and all the remaining ingredients in a medium bowl. Add to the chicken and mix well. Reduce the heat to medium, cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes (mine took about 10 minutes), or until the chicken is fork-tender and the juices run clear when pierced with a fork. Stir in the almonds and serve with or over the couscous or rice.
QUINOA BLACK BEAN SALAD
Put 1 1/2 cups of water and 3/4 cups of quinoa into saucepan. Bring to a boil. Turn to simmer and cook, covered, 10-15 minutes, or until water is absorbed.
Toss 3/4 cup canned, rinsed and drained black beans with 3/4 Tbsp of red wine vinegar and S&P to taste.
Mix quinoa, beans, 3/4 cup thawed, frozen corn, a few slices of seeded pickled jalapenos, diced, and chopped cilantro to taste. Toss with dressing to taste (I used about half of this amount):
DRESSING:
2 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
1/2 t salt
3/4 t cumin
2 Tbsp EVOO
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