Thursday 14 April 2011

Berber-style Stuffed Chicken Thigh & Salad

It was one of those days when I craved Middle-Eastern/North-African flavours but wasn't really in the mood for lots of couscous or rice - hence the accompaniment of spiced wedges. I don't know how many cuisines I raided to arrive at the final dish.

For the marinade:
1dstsp oil (Olive or Veg), a pinch S+P, 1 tsp lemon juice, 1 scant tsp cumin, 1 scant tsp crushed garlic and a pinch of cayenne pepper. Mix well and rub the skin of the boned chicken with the mixture and then marinate skin-side up. I had 2 thighs to myself which was a bit greedy - one large one would have been ample. Stand for at least an hour.


For the stuffing:
1 heaped tsp of couscous mixed with 30ml of boiling water. Add a pinch of salt and 1 tsp finely chopped red onion, 1 tsp finely chopped peppers, half  a tsp of ground cinnamon and 1 tsp dried mixed fruit. Leave to stand for about 15 minutes, fluffing occasionally with a fork.



With the boned chicken thigh skin down, spoon some filling into the middle, roll up, tucking the ends in, and secure with cocktail sticks. Roast uncovered in a very hot oven for 30 minutes.

For the spicy wedges:
A big  handful of potatoes - skin on - cut to desired size mixed with a little vegetable oil, a shake of sea-salt, a pinch of cracked black pepper, a pinch of chilli powder, a pinch of paprika and1 tsp of crushed garlic. Cook for the same length of time as the chicken.


The salad was just a bit of whatever I had in the fridge, with a tomato-flavoured dressing: 2 tsp tomato ketchup mixed with 2 tsp French dressing and couple of shakes of Worcester sauce. Simples!