Traditional Moroccan couscous with roast chicken and vegetables recipe

This Moroccan couscous dish combines whole roasted chicken and spiced veggies, with a rich stock. It is the traditional family meal on Fridays in Morocco. The traditional preparation is very time consuming so I adapted my mum's recipe to make it a little simpler.

Recipe by: Sarah Hopkins

Ingredients 

Serves: 8

1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground ginger
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 whole chicken
1 tablespoon olive oil
1.5L chicken stock
3 tablespoons butter
3 large carrots, halved
1 small head green cabbage, cut into 6 segments, core intact
2 medium courgette, quartered
350ml water
175g couscous

Method

Prep:15min  ›  Cook:1hr45min  ›  Ready in:2hr

1. Preheat the oven to 200 C / Gas 6.

2. Mix turmeric, salt, cumin, ginger, pepper, cinnamon and cloves together in a small bowl. Place chicken in a casserole pot. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of the spice mix onto the chicken and drizzle with olive oil.

3. Cover chicken and bake in the preheated oven until the juices run clear, about 50 minutes. Uncover and continue cooking for another 20 minutes. Let rest, uncovered, for 15 minutes.

4. Combine stock, butter and remaining spice mix in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Bring to the boil and add carrots. Reduce heat and simmer until starting to soften, about 10 minutes. Add cabbage and courgettes. Add some of the gravy from the casserole pot. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 15 minutes.

5. Bring water to the boil in a saucepan; remove from heat and stir in couscous. Cover saucepan and let stand until water is absorbed completely, about 10 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a large, shallow bowl. Place chicken the middle and arrange vegetables around the chicken. Pour 4 to 5 ladles of the stock over the whole dish.