Harissa Yoghurt Chicken & Vegetable Couscous
The 2 nights per week that my husband is not at work allow me to take a bit longer in the kitchen. Sunday and Monday evenings are when I do my meal prep for the following week and make sure my fridge and freezer are stocked. I also like to to take a bit more time making dinner on these nights. Being able to create something in the kitchen is one of the things that keep me sane so I really look forward to these evenings.
Saying that, this baked chicken dish is not complicated and I threw it together with what was in my fridge and pantry. I made a richly-flavoured marinade with yoghurt, spices and roast red capsicum, poured it over some chicken thighs and baked them for 20 minutes while I made the vegetable couscous. I used the roast capsicum you can find in jars in the supermarket. I always have a jar of these in my fridge – they are an easy and welcome addition to many salads, couscous, tagines, etc.
We had this delicious dish with a spinach salad and you could also add some flatbread if you wished.
harissa yoghurt chicken
- 1c yoghurt
- 1 roast red capsicum, peeled, deseeded
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1/2 lemon, zest and juice (or finely diced preserved lemon)
- 1.5tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- coriander, see note*
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 6 chicken thighs, skin on, bone in, seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2tb olive oil
Preheat your oven to 200’C. Puree the yoghurt, capsicum, spices, lemon and salt in a blender or processor until smooth. Heat the olive oil in a pan over med-high heat and cook the chicken thighs, skin down, until the skin is golden. Transfer them to a baking dish leaving any remaining oil and rendered chicken fat in the pan. Pour over the yoghurt marinade and place in the oven for 20 minutes. (It may seem like a lot of sauce but any excess is delicious poured over the couscous.)
Meanwhile, using the fat left in the pan, sauté some vegetables of your choosing until golden and cooked through. Season well. For 6 portions, I used..
- 1 capsicum, sliced
- 1 small sweet potato, diced
- 1 spanish onion, sliced
- handful of mushrooms, sliced
- handful of green beans
- handful of pine nuts (flaked almonds would also work well)
Then add 1 c of couscous and 2 c of water or stock, place a lid on the pan (or foil securely) and leave to cook for 5 minutes over medium heat. Remove the lid, stir well, replace the lid and turn off the heat. Allow to finish steaming for a couple of minutes then fluff with a fork. Add some chopped parsley, coriander or spinach and some diced fresh date or some raisins if you wish.
Make It Easy On Yourself: blend the yoghurt marinade and dice the vegetables for the couscous the day before. And remember to keep a jar of roast capsicum in the fridge!
*Note: I also added some coriander stalks I had left from a previous dish. You could add a teaspoon of ground coriander or leave the coriander out entirely.