Mob’s Chicken, Lemon and Olive Stew
This one-pot chicken stew from Mob takes inspiration from Morocco with big hitting flavours of ras el hanout, saffron, cinnamon, cumin, preserved lemon and olive all joining the party. Delicious piled onto fluffy couscous.
Introduction
Inspired by a classic Moroccan banger, with minimal washing up. Cooking the couscous in all the gorgeous tagine juices gives this a real depth of flavour. If you can’t find preserved lemons, load it up with fresh lemon zest instead.
Ingredients
| 8 | skin-chicken thighs or drumsticks |
| 2 large | onions |
| 6 | garlic cloves |
| 1 tbsp | ras el hanout |
| 2 tsp | ground cumin |
| 1 tsp | ground cinnamon |
| ½ tsp | ground turmeric |
| a pinch of | saffron |
| ½ tsp | caster sugar |
| 1 | chicken stock cube |
| 2 | preserved lemons |
| 160g | pitted green olives |
| 175g | couscous |
| a large handful of | coriander |
| 1 | lemon |
| salt |
Essential kit
You will need a large ovenproof dish with a lid.
Method
Set the casserole dish over a low heat. Once hot, add the chicken thighs, skin-side down, and season generously with salt. Cook for 3–4 minutes until the skin is brown and crisp.
Meanwhile, slice the onions and finely chop the garlic.
When browned, remove the chicken from the dish to a plate. Throw the onions and garlic into the chicken fat and cook for 5 minutes until starting to soften. Add the spices and sugar and fry for another minute until fragrant.
Crumble in the stock cube, then stir in 500ml of boiling water. Pop the chicken thighs back in and simmer over a very low heat for 30–35 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
Halve the preserved lemons and scoop out the flesh, discarding it. Finely slice the peel, then add the peel and olives to the dish. Stir to combine, then add the couscous and another 550ml of boiling water. Cover with the lid and cook for 6 minutes until the couscous is fluffy, but there is a liquid gravy remaining.
Meanwhile, finely chop the coriander. Halve the fresh lemon.
When the couscous is ready, pop the chicken thighs back on top and garnish with the chopped coriander and a squeeze of lemon juice.
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