Drunken Haddock with Escarole Over Cumin Couscous

Tonight was one of my favorite kind of nights in the kitchen where I just cooked by instinct and created something totally new. I came home thinking I'd make a big salad with some grilled haddock.  Well the head of lettuce I thought was in the fridge ended up being the rest of the escarole and the haddock wasn't as firm as I'd like to grill. I ended up marinating the haddock in some lime juice, ancho chili powder, salt and a little olive oil.  Oh and then I added the juice of half a lime that I saw in the fridge - see where this is going?  I was thinking flaky fish tacos which lead me in the direction of Mexican flavour but I didn't want tacos again. Instead I I pulled out my big skillet and started where all great dishes start - olive oil with some onions and, in this case, garlic scapes.  From there it was what did I have and what looked good. I was heading in the direction of some type of stew or at least something with a great broth so I knew I'd need a starch to soak up the juice.  While I was being creative, I wasn't interested in a lot of time so I went to the quick, traditional couscous with some cumin for seasoning.  Back to the skillet and I started throwing in ingredients to develop this really great tasting broth to which I added the escarole and haddock.  The drunken part comes from the tequila! I surprised even myself tonight with how good this dish turned out so I would highly recommend giving it a try.  It was spicy and warm but not to heavy and really, really tasty!!  I would recommend topping this with cilantro but I only had parsley available.

Drunken Haddock with Escarole Over Cumin Couscous
Haddock, cut into large bite size pieces
Salt
Juice of one lemon
Juice of half a lime
Ancho Chili Pepper
Olive Oil

Couscous
Cumin
Salt
Olive Oil

Onion, chopped
Garlic scapes, chopped
1/2 Jalapeño pepper, minced
Red Bell Pepper, chopped
Ancho Chili powder
Mexican Oregano
Smoked Paprika
Diced tomatoes (small can)
Water
Orange juice
Honey
Tequila
Escarole, chopped 

Parsley, rough chop
Scallions, diced


Marinate haddock in salt, juices, chili powder and olive oil.

Cook cumin according to package directions while adding cumin to the water or broth.


Saute onion until softened then add garlic scapes and jalapeno and cook a few minutes be careful not to let them burn. Add red pepper and cook only for a few minutes so it softens slightly but holds bite.  Add seasonings and cook 1-2 minutes.  Add tomatoes and 1/2 can of water and bring to boil while adding juice and honey.  Add tequila and cook out liquor. Taste and adjust seasonings.  Add escarole and cook until wilted. Add haddock with all marinating juices and cook until haddock is cooked through.

Serve haddock over couscous and top with parsley and scallions.