016 / 75 · Skillet Chicken and Turkey

Lemon Chicken Cutlets with Green Peas

2 plates, each with 1 chicken cutlet, half the peas and half the couscous · Active 20 min · Total 40 min

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A chicken cutlet is easier to cook evenly when it is the same thickness from end to end. Here, thin breast pieces brown in a skillet, then rest on a clean plate while peas warm in a lemon pan sauce. Quick couscous fills out the plate without demanding a second cooking technique. A thermometer, rather than a guess about pinkness, decides when the chicken is ready.

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Original hand-drawn illustration of lemon chicken cutlets with green peas.

Even thickness buys control

Put a breast between sheets of baking paper and flatten the thick end gently with a rolling pin. Aim for about 1.5 cm, not paper-thin meat with torn edges. Two similarly sized pieces can share a cooking window; a very thick center beside a thin tail cannot. Prepare the couscous bowl and clean cooked-food plate before touching raw poultry. Do not rinse the chicken. After handling it, wash your hands and clean the raw-food board before using any ready-to-eat ingredients. Insert the thermometer sideways into the thickest part so its sensing area sits inside the meat rather than against the hot skillet.

Finish the vegetables in the pan

Once the chicken reaches 165°F/74°C, move it to the clean plate. The brown patches left in the skillet can flavor a small amount of water and lemon, provided nothing is burnt black. Scrape gently, add the frozen peas and cover briefly. Keep the garlic moving for its short cooking time so it does not become bitter. Fluff the couscous with a fork rather than pressing it into a solid mound. Divide the measured grain, peas and sauce between both plates; an unspecified side dish would make the estimate less useful. Packet instructions may call for a different couscous water ratio, so follow them and adjust plain water, not the dry grain quantity.

Ingredients

  • 2 skinless boneless chicken breast cutlets (300 g total raw)
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon quick plain couscous (100 g dry)
  • 7/8 cup drinking water (210 ml), divided: 150 ml couscous and 60 ml peas
  • 1 1/2 cups frozen green peas (200 g), unthawed
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil (10 ml/about 9 g)
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced (3 g)
  • 1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons lemon juice (25 ml/about 25 g)
  • 1/4 teaspoon fine salt (1.5 g), divided
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper (0.3 g)

Set out

28 cm/11-inch skillet with lid, Rolling pin and baking paper, Separate raw-food board and clean cooked-food plate, Tongs, Food thermometer, Heatproof bowl with cover, Kettle, Fork, Kitchen scale

Allergens

Wheat in couscous; check its package for other allergens. Check labels and substitutions.

Make it

  1. If needed, flatten the chicken between baking-paper sheets to an even 1.5 cm/5/8-inch thickness. Season with half the salt and the pepper. Keep raw-poultry equipment separate, wash hands and set out a clean plate.
  2. Put dry couscous in the heatproof bowl. Bring its measured 150 ml water to a boil, or use the amount its packet requires. Pour over, cover and leave for the packet time, usually 5–10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
  3. Heat oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Cook cutlets for about 4–5 minutes per side, adjusting the heat to avoid burning, until each reaches 165°F/74°C in its thickest part. Transfer with clean tongs to the clean plate.
  4. Reduce heat to medium. Add garlic, stir for 20–30 seconds, then add the remaining 60 ml water, lemon, frozen peas and remaining salt. Scrape up brown pan residue, cover and simmer for 4–6 minutes, following any longer pea-packet instruction, until peas are hot and tender.
  5. Divide couscous and peas between 2 plates. Add a chicken cutlet to each and spoon over the lemon pan juices.

A useful kitchen skill

Practice inserting a thermometer sideways into a thin cutlet. A browned exterior does not confirm that the center has reached the poultry endpoint.

A useful detail

The 40-minute total allows for pounding, water heating and a short pea finish. Thicker cutlets take longer; 165°F/74°C is the poultry endpoint. The estimate includes all couscous, peas and measured pan oil.

Another way

  • Replace the peas with 200 g frozen sweetcorn, cooking according to its packet and recalculating the estimate.
  • Use 100 g dry bulgur instead of couscous only with its own longer cooking method and a new calculation.

Keep it well

Refrigerate leftovers in shallow containers at 40°F/4°C or below within 2 hours, or 1 hour above 90°F/32°C. Use within 3 days or the shorter ingredient deadline. Reheat only the portion needed to 165°F/74°C throughout. Add a measured splash of drinking water if the couscous has dried.