James Tanner encourages us to try something different with his harissa roasted chicken served with tasty couscous.
(Serves 4)
Ingredients
3 tbsp of harissa paste
8 boneless skin-on chicken thighs
2 red onion cut into wedges
6 cloves of peeled garlic
1 deseeded red pepper cut into chunks
1 small butternut squash cut into wedges
8 dried apricots
1 tbsp chopped thyme
4 shredded mint leaves
Juice of half a lemon
250g natural yoghurt
For the couscous:
250g easy-cook couscous
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
475ml hot chicken stock
10g sun-blushed tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp chopped coriander
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
1. First marinate the chicken. Take two tablespoons of harissa paste and mix with 2 heaped tablespoons of yoghurt. Rub over chicken thighs and marinate whilst preparing vegetables.
2. Take the garlic cloves, squash, pepper chunks and onion wedges and mix with 1 tablespoon of harissa paste and two tablespoons of vegetable oil season and place in a roasting tin in the oven for 10 minutes.
3. Remove and stir the vegetables and add the chicken thighs, apricots and chopped thyme roast in the oven for a further 20 minutes to cook through. Stir once whilst cooking, remove and squeeze over lemon juice and arrange in a warm serving dish and scatter over chopped mint.
4. Serve with remaining yoghurt on the side.
5. To prepare the couscous, first place it in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest and juice. Pour over the boiling stock. Stir, cover with cling film and leave to stand for 5 minutes until the lemon liquid is absorbed.
6. Using a fork, fluff the couscous grains to separate them. Stir in the sun-blushed tomatoes, chopped coriander and olive oil. Season well with crushed sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Mix gently then set aside.
7. Serve the couscous with the chicken.