{"id":834,"date":"2010-10-05T09:40:48","date_gmt":"2010-10-04T23:40:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/?p=834"},"modified":"2021-02-08T22:16:29","modified_gmt":"2021-02-08T12:16:29","slug":"moroccan-chicken-couscous-with-chickpeas-sultanas-nuts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/2010\/10\/05\/moroccan-chicken-couscous-with-chickpeas-sultanas-nuts\/","title":{"rendered":"Moroccan chicken & couscous with chickpeas sultanas & nuts"},"content":{"rendered":"

ABC NSW radio segment<\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We were having friends over to play Mahjong so needed to get dinner organised beforehand. Decided to cook this in the morning to allow plenty of time for flavours to develop and blend and then it only had to be reheated.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Chicken pieces on the bone could be used as they have good flavour but they\u2019re fiddlier to eat. Anyway, had some skinless chicken thigh fillets in the fridge so they were perfect. They have a richer flavour and more moisture than chicken breasts and can withstand long slow cooking without drying out.<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I cooked on a low heat on the stovetop but it\u2019s perfect for a slow cooker. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Make extra as it reheats perfectly for lunch or dinner the next day. The flavours only get better!<\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t have any ground ginger but found tucked away in the back of the cupboard some ginger honey, bought originally from a farmers market in the country. So\u2026 I added half regular honey and half ginger honey instead of ground ginger. <\/em><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Couscous with chickpeas, sultanas, nuts & mixed seeds<\/p><\/div>\n

Moroccan Chicken<\/span><\/h1>\n

Serves 6<\/span><\/h1>\n

Ingredients<\/span><\/h1>\n

1.5kg chicken thigh fillets<\/span><\/p>\n

50g butter or olive oil<\/span><\/p>\n

4 teaspoons ground cumin<\/span><\/p>\n

3 teaspoons cinnamon<\/span><\/p>\n

3 teaspoons ground ginger<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper<\/span><\/p>\n

1\/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper<\/span><\/p>\n

2 large brown onions, cut in thin wedges<\/span><\/p>\n

2 cups (500ml) chicken or vegetable stock<\/span><\/p>\n

1 cup (about 140g) pitted dates<\/span><\/p>\n

2 tablespoons honey<\/span><\/p>\n

6 coriander sprigs, to garnish<\/span><\/p>\n

2 tablespoons pistachios or almonds, toasted<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Serving suggestions<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Couscous with chickpeas, sultanas, nuts & mixed seeds (see separate recipe)<\/span><\/p>\n

Steamed green beans, drizzled with olive oil<\/span><\/p>\n

Method<\/span><\/h1>\n

\u00a7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Trim any fat from the chicken. Lay chicken flat, cover with plastic wrap and hit gently with a meat mallet until even thickness.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Melt butter in a large pot. Add the spices and stir over low heat for 1 minute. Increase the heat to medium and cook the chicken, in batches, for 1-2 minutes each side, without allowing the spices to burn.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Remove chicken and add onion to the pot. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Add chicken, stock, dates and honey to the pot and cover. Cook over a low heat for at least 45-60 minutes.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a7\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Put chicken in a serving dish and scatter coriander leaves and pistachios over the top. Serve with mixed seed couscous (see recipe below).<\/span><\/p>\n

Couscous with chickpeas, sultanas, nuts & mixed seeds<\/span><\/h1>\n

Packets of mixed seeds are available from selected supermarkets but could be substituted with just sunflower seeds or pepitas or nuts.<\/h2>\n

Serves 6<\/span><\/p>\n

Ingredients<\/span><\/h1>\n

1 cup mixed seeds<\/p>\n

1\/4 cup slivered almonds<\/p>\n

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock<\/p>\n

2 cups instant couscous<\/p>\n

400g can chickpeas, drained & rinsed<\/p>\n

1\/2 cup sultanas<\/p>\n

1 cup chopped flat leaf parsley<\/p>\n

2 tablespoons butter, melted, or olive oil<\/p>\n

Salt & cracked black pepper<\/p>\n

Method<\/span><\/h1>\n

Put seeds and almonds in a large frypan and cook on a medium heat until golden, stirring occasionally. Heat stock in a saucepan until hot then pour over the couscous. Leave to stand 5-10 minutes until all liquid is absorbed. Fluff couscous with a fork to break up any lumps. Stir in chickpeas, sultanas, parsley and butter. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ABC NSW radio segment We were having friends over to play Mahjong so needed to get dinner organised beforehand. Decided to cook this in the morning to allow plenty of time for flavours to develop and blend and then it only had to be reheated. Chicken pieces on the bone could be used as they […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,7,36,6],"tags":[142,122,4,133,55],"class_list":["post-834","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-easy-recipes","category-radio-food-segments","category-chicken","category-slow-cookers","tag-chicken","tag-couscous","tag-radio","tag-recipes","tag-slow-cooker-recipes"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=834"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1147,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/834\/revisions\/1147"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=834"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=834"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brigidtreloar.com.au\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=834"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}