North African-Spiced Chicken with Apricot-Almond Couscous

I took my friend, Penny, home to Hawaii with me for a week of fun in the sun and when the vacation was over, I came home to find that she had shipped a mini rotisserie affectionately known as a Baby George to me as a gift for showing her my home island! My very own rotisserie! yelp. I felt like a kid who just got her own bike for Christmas. or a teen whose parents bought a car for Sweet Sixteen. yep, if it wasn't official before, it is now--I'm a foodie nerd.

You can't imagine how easy it is to make the perfect roast chicken....a quick dry rub plus one chicken plus 45 minutes and you have M-A-G-I-C. This meal was inspired by a recipe by Tyler Florence but I sassied it up a bit...I rubbed chicken pieces with an amazing North African Spice Rub and popped them in the rotisserie basket for 30 minutes...and dinner was ready within minutes! Note: If you don't have a rotisserie, you can put the chicken in the oven at 375 degrees for about 35-45 minutes if you use pieces or about 1.5 hours if you use a whole chicken.

INGREDIENTS FOR NORTH AFRICAN SPICE RUB:

* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/4 tsp. cloves
* 2 tsp. paprika
* 1/2 tsp. onion powder
* 1/2 tsp. cumin
* 1 tsp. coriander
* 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds
* 1/2 tsp. freshly cracked black pepper
* 1 tsp. kosher salt
* 1/4 tsp. lemon peel
* 1/2 tsp. brown sugar (optional)

This spice rub is absolutely perfect for chicken, lamb, tofu or vegetables! You could also rub this on some par boiled red potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and pop them in the oven until they turn golden brown with crispy edges...

INGREDIENTS FOR COUSCOUS:

* 1 cup cous cous (whole wheat if you have it)
* 1.5 cups water (or chicken or vegetable broth)
* 1 Tbsp. olive oil
* Juice and zest of 1 small lemon
* 1/4 cup parsley, chopped
* 2 Tbsp. cilantro, chopped
* 1/3 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
* 8 or 9 dried apricots, diced
* salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS FOR COUSCOUS:

* Boil water and olive oil.
* Turn off heat and add the couscous. Cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
* Stir in the lemon juice and zest, parsley, cilantro, almonds and apricots.
* Season to taste.

I loved this couscous and I hope you do too! I can't wait for you to try it!