Chicken Tagine with Roasted Vegetable Couscous
This is a tagine for people who don’t own a tagine. The chicken marinates in ras el hanout and preserved lemon brine, then cooks in the oven along with cinnamon sticks, zucchini and yellow capsicum until the juices are delightfully fragrant.
Alongside it is a tray of orange-roasted carrots and cumin seeds, tossed through fluffy couscous with chickpeas and dates for sweetness. The chicken does most of its work in the fridge, so the marinade needs at least three hours, though overnight is better.
Everything reheats well, which makes it a good one for leftovers and make-ahead meals.
ingredients
- 3 tsp ras el hanout
- 100ml olive oil
- 30ml lemon brine (from the preserved lemons)
- 1kg chicken thighs, cut in large dice
- 1 zucchini, large dice
- 1/2 yellow capsicum, large dice
- 2 sticks cinnamon
- 250ml chicken stock
- 1 large or 2 small preserved lemon
- 2 carrots, large diced
- 1tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
- juice of 1 orange
- salt, to taste
- 200g couscous
- 10 dates, pits removed and sliced
- 1/2 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
Marinate the chicken in a mix of ras el hanout, 40ml olive oil and lemon brine and leave in the fridge for at least 3 hours, or overnight.
Heat a shallow, ovenproof pan and add 30ml oil then add the chicken in small batches and cook until lightly browned. Add zucchini, capsicum, cinnamon sticks and stock to the pan and cook uncovered in oven at 180°C for 30 minutes. Cut the preserved lemon (remove seeds) into fine dice and add it to the dish 10 minutes.
Toss carrots in 30ml olive oil, orange juice, cumin & salt. Roast in same oven for 30-40 minutes until cooked through.
Hydrate couscous with an equal volume of just boiled water or stock. Cover for 5 minutes then use a fork to loosen it up. Add a little butter & salt to taste. Toss the cooked carrot and associated juices along with the drained chickpeas and dates through the warm couscous.
Serve chicken tagine alongside the couscous with lashing of tasty juices.
To reheat, place chicken covered in a 180 degree Celsius oven for 25-30 minutes or until steaming. Couscous and vegetables only need 10-15 minutes covered at 180 degrees Celsius.