Cook from day 4 to 5
This dish feels as if it had been slow-cooked for hours in a tagine, the traditional clay pot with a lid (we won’t tell anyone it actually took just a deep frying pan and half an hour).
P—50, F—22, C—64
- Olive oil
- Frying pan
- Bowl for couscous
- We'll simply pour hot water and olive oil over couscous and let it sit. You can cover the bowl with a plate that fits snugly — it’s easier than hunting for the right lid, and more sustainable than using foil.
- Cook chicken
Salt chicken thighs all over. Heat frying pan over medium-high heat with no oil, then place chicken skin-side down. Reduce heat to medium and cook for 6 minutes.
! If chicken fat starts splattering too much, lower heat slightly, but not so much that cooking stops.
Move on to the next step, but don’t forget to come back.
Flip and cook thigh on the other side for just 1 minute. We’ll finish cooking it in step 3.
Transfer chicken to a plate and do not wash frying pan.
2. Prep ingredients
While chicken cooks, thinly slice onion into half-moons, rinse raisins well, and soak in a little water.
3. Cook tagin sauce
In frying pan used for chicken, sauté onion for a couple of minutes, stirring, until softened. Drain raisins.
Add chickpeas, ras el hanout, raisins, and a generous pinch of salt to onion, then stir for 1 minute to warm everything through. Add strained tomatoes and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce heat to medium, then return chicken with all juices, nestling it into sauce so meat is submerged while skin stays more or less above liquid—we don’t want it to soften too much in sauce.
Leave to cook uncovered for 12 minutes.
4. Start cooking herby couscous
While dish finishes cooking, prepare couscous.
Combine couscous with a pinch of salt, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and couscous spice blend. Pour over boiling water, using 100 ml per serving, cover tightly, and leave to steam for 5 minutes.
5. Finish
Give sauce a final taste for salt. If tomato tastes a little too acidic, add a pinch of sugar or 1 teaspoon honey.
6. Serve
Fluff couscous with a fork and divide among plates. Add chicken thighs and generously spoon chickpea sauce over the top.