The Mediterranean coast is home to some of the very best food in the world, but in this country we are most familiar with the cuisine of the northern coastline. This dish is inspired by the cuisine and culture of the southern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, that of Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt.

Whole, Half or Quartered Chicken (skin on)

1 Sliced Yellow Onion

1 Sliced Lemon

Black Pepper

Cous-Cous

Almonds, Slivered

Golden Raisins

Green Peas (Fresh or Frozen)

Pine Nuts

Taboule

This is either a super-quick meal or fairly time-consuming, depending on how adventurous you may be. Quick approach: drop into the deli of your neighborhood grocery on the way home and buy a roasted lemon-pepper chicken and a package of fresh taboule.

More complex approach: drop into your neighborhood grocery and buy a chicken and a package of fresh taboule (I won't even venture into a recipe for taboule because I am not certain what is in there other than parsley). Rub the chicken with olive oil and season with black pepper and lemon juice (or lemon pepper seasoning). Carve up the lemon and place it in the pan with the chicken. Slow roast the chicken on low heat (no more than 300 F), wrapped or covered. When the chicken is almost done, uncover or unwrap and allow it to achieve a crispy golden brown from the broiler on 450 F. Be careful here because you don't want to overcook the skin or outside meat before the inside is done. Its better to go back to low heat to get the inside done than to try to catch up with the broiler.

Cook the instant cous-cous per the package, adding some sliced onion, slivered almonds, golden raisins, green peas and pine nuts when the cous-cous is put into the boiling water. None of this really requires cooking and will be done in about 5 minutes. This is scarcely cooking at all, but its a really great meal!

Serve the chicken with the cous-cous and taboule with a light white wine, like a pinot grigio or a riesling. Some fruit like dates, grapes and melon makes a nice aperitif or dessert accompaniment.