One Pot Wonder – Baked Moroccan Chicken

I got really excited when I came across this recipe idea, for a few reasons which I feel necessary to elaborate on so as to give full context to what might otherwise have been an overlooked, humble chicken dish. The original option was with lamb, but I had chicken defrosting already and not lamb, so there you go.

1. The entire meal is made in one dish. Chicken, vegetables, cous cous. The Works. Just wait and see how.

2. I have been looking for a twist on the Tuesday night chicken dinner for a while now and this most certainly hit the spot (No we don’t actually have chicken every Tuesday, heaven forbid we were that predictable, it just sounded good).

3. We’ve both been home from work most of yesterday and all day today with some kind of weird flu virus and have each lain stretched out on a couch staring straight ahead at the ceiling for hours on end, making sure not to look left or right because for some reason our eyeballs really hurt. So, a re-vamped chicken dinner sounds like just the ticket at this point since we’ve been on soup since yesterday and haven’t had much of an appetite. (And thanks Meg for so kindly popping round with that chicken soup yesterday morning, sure beat whatever else we might have scratched up for lunch).

So, One Pot Wonder Baked Moroccan Chicken here we go…

Serves 4 | Preparation time 5 minutes | Cooking time 35 minutes

WHAT YOU’LL NEED
6 chicken thighs (we had ours with skin)
1 onion, roughly chopped
Half a medium butternut, peeled and cubed (or use sweet or regular potatoes)
2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tsp ground dried coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tsp fresh grated ginger (you can grate with the skin on)
2 tsp chopped fresh garlic
2-3 Tbsp olive oil
Optional: 1 tin chopped peeled tomatoes

1 cup cous cous
1 cup chicken stock

Handful chopped fresh mint or coriander to stir through before serving.

You could also add a handful of toasted almonds before serving if you like.

WHAT TO DO
1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C and put the chopped onion and butternut/potato in the bottom of a large oven-proof casserole dish (one that owns a lid).

2. Add the chicken pieces, spices, grated ginger and olive oil. Toss so that everything is coated evenly. At this point I also add about 2 Tbsp water to the bottom of the pot just to add some extra moisture.

3. Cover the pot with a sheet of tinfoil and press it down around the edges so that it seals as well as possible (this will keep all the moisture in) then put the lid on and place in the oven for approximately 35 minutes. You’ll know it’s cooked when the chicken pulls away from the bones easily.

4. Then pour in the cous cous and stock and leave to stand with the lid on for 10-15 minutes. Just before serving, stir through the mint or coriander and you’re good to go.

You could also serve this with spicy chickpea salad
We had ours with left over risotto, because the cupboard is rather bare at this point and I haven’t had the energy to get up and go to the shops.
Easy light dessert idea? Try my (any) berry and cashew nut frozen yoghurt.

Rob’s rating: 7/10