Recipe: Chicken Couscous Cakes

This recipe comes from Jean Pare's Company's Coming Whole Grain Recipes cookbook. It's a little bit fussy to make, and messy. (It stuck to my hands really badly when I made the cakes.) But I really thought the taste was worth it.

This is the recipe as written, but I made half (still using a whole egg, since it seemed to need the extra liquid) and it worked quite well.

1/4 cup whole wheat couscous
1/2 cup boiling water

1 tsp oil
1 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup red pepper, finely chopped

2 cups cooked chicken, diced
1 cup wild rice, cooked
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp garlic and herb seasoning (I used an Italian seasoning blend)

1 egg, fork beaten
1/2 cup jalapeño Monterey Jack cheese, grated


1. Preheat oven to 375F/190C. Cook couscous according to package directions.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook onion and pepper until softened, 5-7 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl.
3. Add chicken, rice, bread crumbs, seasoning and couscous to cooked vegetables. Stir together. Add cheese and egg, mixing well to combine.
4. Divide into 12 equal portions and shape into patties. Arrange on greased baking sheet. Lightly spray with cooking spray. Bake for about 20 minutes or until firm.


The recipe doesn't suggest it, but I served mine over an herb/baby greens mix with some balsamic vinaigrette and a (small) quartered tomato.