Mediterranean "Chicken" and Saffron Rice

My first foray into turning a cookbook meal, starting with a Rachael Ray cookbook, into a vegan meal is Mediterranean Chicken and Saffron Couscous Rice.   (Turns out my couscous had been in the pantry too long..there were….inhabitants. So rice it was!)

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 6-ounce boneless, skinless chicken breast halves 1 package of Morningstar "Chicken" Strips
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper 
• 3 cups chicken stock or vegetable stock
• 1 pinch of saffron (I had red saffron)
• 4 garlic cloves, 1 crushed, 3 chopped
• 1 1/4 cup couscous brown instant rice
• 1 large red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped
• 1 15-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
• 1 cup dry white wine
• 10 kalamata olives, pitted, cut in half ( I used a jar of pre-sliced and just scooped out a healthy spoons worth)
• 1/2 pint grape  tomatoes
• 1/2 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, coarsely chopped
• 20 fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped

Boil 2 cups vegetable broth with a pinch of saffron, 1 clove crushed garlic and some pepper.  Add rice to boiling liquid, cover and cook 5 minutes or until most of liquid has been absorbed and rice is cooked.

Meanwhile, heat up the "chicken" in a dutch oven, with some olive oil to prevent sticking/burning. Heat it until browned, which only takes about 5 minutes on medium-high heat.  Remove  "chicken" from pan and keep warm. 

In the dutch oven, add the extra virgin olive oil, onions and garlic and thyme. Let it cook until onions have softened then add the 1 cup vegetable stock and 1 cup of wine.  Add artichoke hearts, olives, and tomatoes and let it simmer until the liquid has reduced by half and the tomatoes burst open. 5-10 minutes.  Toss in the  "chicken", the rice, the basil and parsley and stir to combine.

Not having had artichokes before, and being a trying-to-reform picky order, I wasn't sure what to expect. But no one single flavor stood out here. It helped that I chopped the 'chokes up. It was a nice blend of everything. It was fragrant and really quite good.