Good Taste: Moroccan-Spiced Chicken with Olive, Apricot, and Pistachio Couscous

From February 2009 Martha Stewart Living

Chicken
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground tumeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 whole chicken (4 pounds), quartered, skin on
1 lemon, quartered

1. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the center rack of oven and preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix spices, 2 teaspoons salt, 3/4 teaspoons pepper, and the oil in a small bowl. Rub spice paste all over chicken.
2. Carefully arrange chicken in a single layer on hot sheet, and arrange lemon wedges around chicken. Back until chicken registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer and juices run clear, 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand from 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper,and serve with pan juices and lemon wedges on the side.

Thoughts: This is a sensational dish! It has a long ingredient list, but, ah, once I bit into the chicken, it took me to another place. I quartered the chicken myself, with great trepidation and a pair of poultry scissors from a neighbor. To my utter disbelief, it was a low-drama, 5-minute procedure. I intend to buy whole chickens from here on out, because I prefer the dark meat on the bone and I'm inching my way to buying only organic meat and poultry. For now, I'll avoid the boneless/skinless chicken breasts that tragically belong to those birds we saw on Food Inc. This dish was eagerly devoured by every member of the Lloyd family: both 30 year-olds, the four year-old, and the 15-month old.

Couscous:
1 1/4 cups water
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 ounce (1 tablespoon) unsalted butter
1/4 cup dried apricots, preferably Turkish, chopped
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped green olives (about 6 large olives)
1 cup couscous
2 tablespoons shelled pistachios, toasted and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Bring water, salt, and butter to a boil in a small saucepan. Add apricots, olives, and couscous, swirling pan to submerge ingredients. Cover, remove from heat, and let stand for 5 minutes. Stir with fork, then fold in pistachios and lemon juice. Serve immediately.

Thoughts: A great accompaniment to the chicken, soaking up all the pan juices in the best, absorbent way. Peter was not a fan of the "goosegoose," but we adults didn't really notice, because we were snarfing it down.