Inspired by a Moroccan tagine, this one’s all about big spices, tender chicken, and sauce worth mopping up. It’s rich, comforting, and done in under an hour (no tagine pot required).
Midweek dinner that feels like you’ve made an effort.
Category
Dinner
Servings
2
Prep time
10 minutes
Cook time
45 minutes
Inspired by a Moroccan tagine, this one’s all about big spices, tender chicken, and sauce worth mopping up. It’s rich, comforting, and done in under an hour (no tagine pot required).
Simmered low and slow with preserved lemon and green olives, then served over couscous. Don’t have preserved lemon? Use fresh zest, it still gets the job done.
Midweek dinner that feels like you’ve made an effort.
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp plain flour
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- sea salt, to season
- 2 chicken drumsticks
- 2 chicken thighs, bone in
- 1 tbsp chicken fat, tallow or olive oil
- 1 small red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- ¼ tsp chilli flakes
- 375mls (1½ cups) chicken stock
- 2 tbsp preserved lemon rind, chopped
- ½ cup green olives, pitted
- chopped coriander leaves, to serve
- 375mls (1½ cups) water
-
20g butter
- 200g (1 cup) couscous
Chicken
Sauce
Cous cous
Directions
Prep and cook chicken
Combine the flour, paprika and some salt to season in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss well to fully coat all over, dust off any excess flour.
- Melt fat or oil in a heavy based deep frying pan over medium high heat.
- Carefully add the chicken to your pan and cook for 8-10 minutes, turning to brown all sides well. Transfer to a plate.
Cook the sauce
Reduce heat to medium and add the onion to the pan. Saute, stirring, for 3-4 minutes until starting to brown. Stir in garlic and cook for a further minute.
- Reduce heat to low and add spices. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute until fragrant. Pour in stock and bring to a simmer, scraping the frond from the base of the pan.
- Return chicken to pan, cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes.
Make cous cous
Bring the water, butter and a pinch of salt to a boil in a medium saucepan. Turn off the heat and stir in the couscous.
- Cover and leave for 3 minutes, then stir with a fork to fluff up the grains. Replace the lid and leave for another 2 minutes.
- Fluff up couscous again with a fork, then divide between serving plates.
Finish and serve
Take the lid off the pan and turn the heat up. Use a spoon to baste the chicken in the sauce. Let the sauce reduce a little bit.
- Stir in lemon rind and olives and turn off the heat. You just want to heat them up quickly before serving.
- Spoon chicken and sauce over couscous and garnish with coriander to serve.
Recipe video
Recipe notes
Cook support
Make sure your heat is right down low when simmering the chicken so the sauce does not reduce too quickly.
Sourcing
Preserved lemons can be sourced from a good quality green grocer, but if you can’t find them, you can substitute with fresh lemon zest.
Storage
The chicken and sauce can be stored in an airtight container and refrigerated, but best to keep it in a separate container from the couscous.
Serving ideas
You could add some yoghurt on the side, additional preserved lemon slices or some flatbread instead of couscous to serve.
FAQs
Can I use boneless chicken?
You can, but bone-in gives you more flavour. If you go boneless, reduce the simmering time slightly.
Can I make this dish ahead of time?
The chicken can be made ahead of time and refrigerated before gently reheating on the stove, but best to cook the couscous to serve.
Is it spicy?
This dish has a hint of spice to it, but the chilli flakes can be omitted or increased based on your preferences.
Can I freeze it?
The chicken can be frozen in the sauce in an airtight container.
