Moughrabiyeh / Spiced Lebanese Couscous with Chicken, Lamb and Baby Onions Recipe

Serves 4-6

Lebanese couscous is quite different from the North African couscous. The grains are bigger, more like small beads, and you can buy them fresh, as with fresh pasta. However only the dried variety is available outside Lebanon. It is just as good as the fresh moughrabiyeh that is available in Lebanon.

Ingredients

1 medium chicken, (about 1.5 kg)
300g lamb meat from the shanks, cut into medium-sized pieces
4 Adonis Cinnamon Sticks
1½ tbsp coarse sea salt
½ tsp Adonis Cinnamon Ground
500g dried moughrabiyeh
60g unsalted butter
16 baby onions, peeled
400g net weight ready-cooked chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 tsp Adonis Moughrabiyeh Spices

Cooking instructions

Put the chicken in a large saucepan. Add 1.2 liters water. Put the lamb meat in another pan. Add 600 ml water to the lamb. Place each pan over medium-high heat and bring to boil. Just as the water is about to boil, skim the surface clean in both pans. Then add 3 Adonis cinnamon sticks and 1 tablespoon coarse sea salt to the chicken. Add 1 Adonis cinnamon sticks, ½ tablespoon salt and ½ teaspoon Adonis ground cinnamon to the lamb. Reduce the heat to medium under both pans. Boil gently for 1 to 1 ¼ hours.

Put the dried moughrabiyeh in a bowl, cover with boiling water and let it sit for 15 minutes. Stir as soon as you add the water so that grains do not stick together.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Drain the moughrabiyeh and saute in the butter until the grains are well coated. Set aside.

Fifteen minutes before the chicken is ready, add the baby onions to the chicken. Cover and cook for 15 minutes, or until the onions are tender and the chicken is done. Add the chickpeas to the lamb.

Transfer the chicken onto a carving board. Cut into 4 or 8 pieces. Discard the skin and keep warm. With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions from the pan and add to the moughrabiyeh. Strain the chicken stock. With a slotted spoon, remove both lamb and chickpeas and add to the moughrabiyeh. Add 150 ml chicken stock to the moughrabiyeh and season with Adonis moughrabiyeh spices and salt to taste. Mix well. Cook for another 5 minutes, stirring regularly. If the moughrabiyeh is too al dente, add more stock and cook until it is done to your liking. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a preheated serving dish. Arrange the chicken pieces over the moughrabiyeh. Serve immediately.