Jess’ Cheat Moroccan Chicken

This is Jess...but not the moroccan chicken

Serves 4

Masterfoods spice mix
Juice of 1 lemon
1 clove garlic, crushed
chilli flakes (optional)
cumin (optional)
2 tsp olive oil
4 chicken thighs
2 cups low-fat natural yoghurt to serve

Couscous
2 cups couscous
1/2 cup sultanas
5 spring onions, chopped
1 cup chicken stock
30 pistachios or other nuts (pine nuts are good)
1 capsicum, chopped
coriander to serve

Mix the spice mix with the lemon juice, garlic, chilli flakes, cumin and oil.

Coat the chicken in it and marinate for as long as you can.

Cook the chicken: barbeque or bake in the oven for 30 minutes (baste regularly with the sauce if baking.

Mix some cumin, cumin seeds, lemon juice and garlic into the yoghurt. Set aside and when ready, serve with the chicken.

For the cous cous, pour the boiling stock over the couscous and let rest. Fluff with a fork and stir through the capsicum, spring onion, nuts, sultanas and herbs.

Garnish with coriander and serve with some couscous and a dollop of yoghurt.

Grublover comment
Make a big serve and it is good for lunch the next day cold. I also like pouring the juices from chicken the pan over my couscous.

You could also serve this dish with the chick pea salad in the recipe for Middle-Eastern Lamb!

Chicken and date tagine

Serves 4

8 skinless chicken thighs
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red onion, cut into wedges
300 mL chicken stock, cube or concentrate
400g tin cherry tomatoes (can use tinned plum tomatoes if not available)
1 cinnamon stick
8 Medjool dates , halved
coriander leaves from a large bunch
SPICE PASTE
1 small red onion, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
thumb sized piece root ginger, roughly chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp mild chilli powder
coriander roots, from a large bunch
1 lemon, zested and juiced
2 Tb olive oil

Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put all the spice paste ingredients in a small food processor with 2 tbsp olive oil and whizz to a paste.

Brown the chicken thighs all over in a tagine or large, wide pan. Remove from pan.

Add the spice paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.

Add the squash, onion, stock, tomatoes and cinnamon and stir. Sit the chicken on top (push down a bit into the sauce).

Cook uncovered in the oven for 1 hour - the chicken should be browned and cooked and the sauce reduced.

Add the dates for the last 20 minutes of cooking.

Scatter with coriander and serve with couscous.

Grublover comment
This is a simple and delicious meal with a moroccan feel. It is great to cook when you have guests as you can have a drink with your friends while the oven does the work for you!

Jess’ Cheat Moroccan Chicken

buy the masterfoods moroccan spice mix, mix it with a heap of lemon and garlic and a bit of oil

coat the chicken it and marinate for as long as you can. i like to add chilli flakes as well, and extra cumin. anything in the cupboard that goes is good to add in fact.

cook the chicken: barbeque, fry in a pan, or bake in the oven for 30 minutes (baste regularly with the sauceif baking)

get some natural yogurt, mix it with cumin, cumin seeds, lemon and garlic, maybe a little oil too. set aside and when ready, serve with the chicken.

for the cous cous, cook as per the packet, then add cut up a capsicum, spring onion, coriander, handfuls of currants, pistachios, (maybe even pine nuts or almonds). and there is the dinner. garnish with coriander too. make a big serve and it is good for lunch the next day cold. i also like pouring the juices from chicken the pan over my couscous.

Grublover comment
This recipe is from my dear friend Jess, and I agree with her comment that it is “pretty damn fine”.