This is a mighty Moroccan spin on the classic roast chicken, spiked with harissa and perfumed with preserved lemon. I serve this with a lovely herby couscous salad and coral pink slithers of macerated onions.
Method
- Pre-heat the over to 200 fan and get the chicken out of the fridge to come to room temperature.
- Arrange the onions onto the bottom of a roasting tray. Place the chicken over the top and put the preserved lemon and garlic into the cavity. Rub the harissa all over the skin and then season really well with salt.
- Place into the hot oven and roast for 1 hour twenty to 1 hour thirty or until the juices run clear. Cover with foil and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, tip the couscous into a bowl and cover by about 1 cm with warm water. cover and leave for 10 minutes. Fluff with fork. Add the peas, spring onions, herbs, chilli, lemon and olive oil. Season with salt and mix well.
- put the onion into a bowl and add the vinegar and a good pinch of salt. mix well and leave to macerate for 10 minutes. Serve with the couscous and chicken and all the chicken juices in a jug.
Ingredients
Serves 6
For the Chicken
2 onions, sliced
1.5-2kg free range chicken
1 preserved lemon, halved
1 bulb garlic, halved
4 tbsp rose harissa
Salt
For the salad
300g couscous
150g frozen peas, blanched
3 spring onions, finely chopped
A large handful of finely chopped parsley/coriander leaves
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
The juice of a lemon or 2 tbsp vinegar
For the onions
1 red onion
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
salt
