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Sumac Grilled Chicken with Lemony Couscous Salad

Dehvon Davies
Jun 16
3 min read

Updated: Jul 1

This salad 🥗 was absolutely amazing with an incredible blend of flavor and texture. The sweet lemon juice 🍋, cranberry, and mint 🌿 are so refreshing and light, they kept the chicken from feeling thick and heavy. The couscous added a nice texture and bit of sustenance. And the arugula doesn't stand a chance at adding a bitter taste to this dish. To be honest, I used twice the sugar 😉, twice the lemon, and I made two servings of my modified version of the dressing because it was so delicious. 🤤

I'd never used sumac 🏺 spice before, and now I am officially a big fan! I only had time to marinate during prep time, yet the chicken 🍗 was still very tender and flavorful. I chopped up the mint, because I didn't want to hear the kids complain about leaves in their food 🤨. And I took advantage of a bag of candied almonds 🌰 and dried cranberries I had in the pantry.

This is another Martha Stewart recipe my family will hold onto for years to come. On a thrifty budget 💵, this recipe was made for about $4 per plate. My husband said, "You can go ahead and put this dressing on everything. I want it every day."

Below is a 60-second video of me blasting ⚡️through the recipe. You might want to adjust your volume down 🔊. YouTube really served on the sound.

Cool Summer Salad For Hardworking Dad of the Year 🏆

This recipe was pretty quick and easy. I hope you try it and truly enjoy it! ☺️

Let's get cooking!

Ingredients

Sumac spice use 2 tsp 🏺
12 oz of boneless skinless chicken breast 🍗
1 lemon 🍋
3 oz of Israeli couscous
1 oz of salted almonds 🌰
1/4 oz of fresh mint 🌿
3 oz of arugula
1 oz of dried cranberries
kosher salt 🧂
ground pepper 🧂
olive oil 🫒
1 tsp of sugar 🍬

Step 1. Marinate Chicken

Bring a medium saucepan of salted water to a boil. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 tsp of the sumac, half a teaspoon of salt, a few grinds of pepper, and one tablespoon of oil. Pat the chicken dry and, using a sharp knife, lightly score each chicken breast four or five times across the top. Add to the bowl and mix to coat, rubbing the marinade into the chicken.

Step 2. Make Dressing

Into a small bowl, finely grate half a teaspoon of lemon zest and squeeze one and a half tablespoons of lemon juice. Whisk in 1 tsp of sugar and 3 tbsp of oil. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 3. Cook Couscous

Add couscous to boiling water and cook until al dente, stirring occasionally, 6 to 7 minutes. Drain couscous well in a fine-mesh sieve, shaking out excess water, and transfer to a large bowl. Add half of the dressing and toss to combine.

Step 4. Cook Chicken

Preheat a grill or grill pan to high. Place chicken on the grill or grill pan and cook until cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove from the grill, cover loosely with foil, and set aside to rest for 5 minutes.

Step 5. Prep Almond and Mint

Meanwhile, coarsely chop almonds, pick mint leaves from stems, discarding stems, and tear any large leaves.

Step 6. Finish and Serve

To bowl with couscous, add arugula, cranberries, almonds, and mint leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper and toss well to combine. Slice chicken if desired, serve salad and top with chicken and any resting juices. Serve drizzled with remaining dressing. Enjoy!!!