A Moorish Chicken Stew With Couscous Salad

After a lovely lunch to celebrate the Chinese new year at our local Chinese, one of the tummies left for Sydney for work, so I will be cooking for two for the next few nights. A quick dash to the supermarket once we had decided on the dinner menu, we spent the rest of the afternoon in the sun over a few glasses of lovely local wine.

This is an extremely easy meal to prepare especially if you already have some harissa  on hand. Vary the recipe by adding preserved lemon or dried figs if your heart desires. Whole quails can be used if you really want to make an impression on your guests.

serves 4 to 6

you'll need;

1 kg of free range  chicken drumsticks or a whole chicken cut into 18 pieces

1 hot chorizo sausage, sliced and browned

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomato

4 tbs of harissa, for the recipe click here 

1 onion, chopped

rind of one lemon

2 bay leaves

250 ml of chicken stock

1 tsp of cumin powder

1 tbs of smoked paprika

salt and pepper to taste

for the couscous salad;

2 cups of couscous

2 cups of vegetable stock

2 tbs of olive oil or butter

1/2 cup of chopped parsley

2 tomatoes, chopped

a handful of sultanas

a handful of almond flakes

rind of one lemon

salt and pepper to taste

Brown the chicken pieces and set aside.

Fry onion til translucent then add in the harrisa, continue to stir for a few minutes on medium heat.

Add the chopped tomatoes and cook for 5 to 10 minutes then return the chicken and chorizo pieces together with the rest of the ingredients and stock, simmer for 15 minutes.

Add eggplant pieces and cook for 10 minutes follow by zucchini and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

If the stew is too runny, remove the solids and reduce the sauce further. Check for seasonings.

For the couscous salad - Pour hot stock and olive oil over couscous, cover and leave for 5 minutes. Use a fork to fluff up the couscous then add in the rest of the ingredients and mix well, check for seasonings.

Serve couscous with the chicken stew and top with more chopped parsley and almond flakes.

The leftover was turned into a delicious pasta sauce the following evening.