Moroccan-Inspired Roast Chicken and Couscous

A spicy, sweet, tangy dish which is a tasty, healthier alternative to a traditional roast.  Lots of ingredients but it is so worth it!
The full-flavoured spiced couscous is served with chunky pieces of juicy, harissa-scented roast chicken then topped with a rich tomato sauce made with the chicken juices.

Serves 4 generously

Ingredients

1 Whole Chicken

2 teaspoons Harissa Paste

1 clove of Garlic, minced

Salt and Black Pepper

1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1 Orange, cut into quarters

1 400g tin of Chopped Tomatoes

1 tablespoon Tomato Puree

For the Couscous

Olive Oil

1 Onion, finely chopped

half a teaspoon Cumin

half a teaspoon Cinnamon

half a teaspoon Turmeric

1 teaspoon Sweet Smoked Paprika (Pimenton)

3 cloves of Garlic, minced

Juice of an Orange

1 teaspoon Harissa

2 Red Peppers, skinned and sliced into strips *

a big handful of Sultanas

1 tablespoon Honey

200g Couscous

50g Pine Nuts

Fresh Lemon Juice

* I skin peppers by cutting them into quarters then putting them skin-side up under a hot grill until the skin is papery and black, the skin comes off easily once cooled.  If you don't want to be bothered, just leave the skin on or buy a jar of flame-grilled peppers!

• Preheat the oven to 190C.
• Sit the chicken in a roasting tin then, with a sharp knife, cut grooves into the chicken breasts and legs.  In a small bowl mix the harissa paste with the garlic, olive oil and salt and pepper.  Spoon this over the chicken and rub it all over, working it into the grooves and underneath.  Squeeze the quarters of orange into the cavity of the chicken then put them in too.
• Put the chicken into the oven for the time specified according to the weight on the packaging.  Baste it a couple of times during the cooking time.
• Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan until golden brown, set aside.
• To prepare the base for the couscous, pour a generous glug of olive oil into a large frying pan and tip in the onions.  On a low-medium heat gently heat the onions until softly sizzling then add the spices, cook slowly for five minutes then add the garlic, orange juice and harissa.  After another few minutes cooking, add the peppers, sultanas and honey to the pan then cook on the lowest hob setting for 10-15 minutes until thick, gooey and aromatic.  The heat can then be turned off and the onion base set aside until you are ready to make the couscous.
• When the chicken is cooked take it out of the roasting tin and put it onto a plate, cover with foil and leave it to rest.  Put the roasting tin onto a low hob and tip in the tin of chopped tomatoes, add the tomato puree then cook on a low heat, stirring to get all the unctuous chicken bits off the bottom of the tin (you can add a teaspoon of harissa at this point if you want a spicy sauce).  Continue to bubble it slowly until thick and reduced, mashing up the pieces of tomato as you go.
• To finish the couscous, reheat the onion and pepper mixture until sizzling then tip in the couscous, stir thoroughly then pour in enough boiling water to cover the couscous with about a centimetre of water above it.  Turn the heat off, cover and leave for 5 minutes.
• After this time the couscous will have absorbed all the liquid, squeeze over half a lemon then fluff it gently with a fork (you can now transfer it to a serving dish if you prefer).  Taste and add more lemon juice, salt and pepper if you need to.
• Take the meat off the chicken in big, chunky pieces and lay these over the couscous.  Spoon the thick tomato sauce over the top then sprinkle with the pine nuts and serve.
• The leftover chicken bones make a fantastically tasty stock!

Apple and Cranberry Cake

A wonderfully seasonal, delicately spiced cake kept moist with apples and plump cranberries.  It keeps for a good few days wrapped in greaseproof paper in a tin, if it lasts that long!

Ingredients

150g Dried Cranberries

100g Soft Butter

100g Caster Sugar

100g Light Brown Sugar

 2 x Apples (approx. 250g), peeled, cored and grated

2 Large Eggs
Juice of an Orange (about 50ml)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 teaspoon Ground Allspice
Half a teaspoon Cinnamon
250g Plain Flour
2 teaspoons Baking Powder
Half a teaspoon Bicarbonate of Soda
For the Icing Glaze
3 tablespoons Icing Sugar
A tablespoon or so of the juice of an orange
a sprinkle of cinnamon

• Preheat the oven to 175C (fan) and line a loaf tin with greaseproof/baking paper.
• Tip the cranberries into a bowl and cover with hot water from a recently boiled kettle, leave to soak while you make the rest of the cake.
• Whisk the butter and both sugars together until pale and fluffy then add the grated apple, eggs and orange juice, whisk slowly until combined.  It will look curdled at this point but don't worry.
• Tip all the dry ingredients into the bowl and mix thoroughly.  Drain the cranberries and fold through the mixture to incorporate.  
• Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes to an hour, until a skewer comes out clean.
• Leave the cake to cool completely.  To make the icing mix the icing sugar with the juice and cinnamon until it is the consistency of single cream then trickle it over the cake and allow to set.
• This cake is better the day after it is made.

Chicken and Chorizo One-Pot Gnocchi

This is a great mid-week meal to have up your sleeve, quick to prepare and, most importantly, very tasty!  Chorizo works so well in this sort of recipe as it flavours everything around it with its piquant garlicky, smoky paprika juices.

I use boneless, skinless chicken thighs as they are so easy but if you can only get hold of boned thighs just use them.   

 

Serves 4

Ingredients

500g pack of boneless, skinless Chicken Thighs

1 Chorizo Sausage (approx. 200g)

1 Red Onion

1 400g tin of Chopped Tomatoes

2 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped

500g pack of Fresh Gnocchi (in the chiller with the fresh pasta)

Salt and Black Pepper

• Preheat the oven to 220C (fan).
• Thinly slice the red onion and put it into a shallow oven dish.
• Take the skin off the chorizo (this is not essential but it can sometimes be a little chewy so I always remove it) then slice it into chunky pieces, add these to the dish.
• Check the chicken thighs and trim off any skin or fat if you need to, cut them in half lengthways then pop these in with the onion and chorizo.
• Tip the chopped tomatoes in, add the garlic and a light seasoning of salt and pepper then toss it all together, nestling the chicken thigh pieces into the bottom of the dish.
• Put it into the preheated oven and cook for 20 minutes.
• Take the dish out of the oven, pour in 200ml of boiling water then tip in the gnocchi, straight from the pack.  Mix together then put it back in the oven and time for another 20 minutes.
• After this time the chicken should be cooked and tender surrounded by thick, bubbling sauce and plump gnocchi.  
• Check the sauce for seasoning and add more salt and black pepper if you need to.
• Serve and enjoy!

Mini Banoffee Pies

I first made these little heavenly morsels for a party about 10 years ago and they received so much adoration that I have been making them ever since.  
Yes, they may be a bit of a fiddle but believe me, the acclaim you will receive makes your hard work more than worthwhile!
By the way, it is always a good idea to make a few plain 'offee' pies as there are always a few who don't like bananas.

Makes 24 Mini Banoffee Pies

Ingredients

250g Digestive Biscuits

175g Butter

400g tin of Condensed Milk

125g Butter

150g Light Brown Muscovado Sugar

2-3 Bananas

300ml Double Cream

3 tablespoons Icing Sugar

few drops of Vanilla Extract

A small amount of dark or milk chocolate (not essential)

• For the bases you will need two bun tins (patty tins) that have 12 cups each.  Put a fairy cake or cup cake case in each cup (this stops the biscuit bases from sticking to the tin).
• Bash, crush or blitz the digestive biscuits into crumbs, melt the butter and pour it into the crumbs, mixing to combine.
• Spoon the crumb mixture into the cake cases (about a teaspoon and a half in each) and press it down firmly in each cup letting it come up the sides a bit.  Put the tins in the fridge to allow the bases to set.
• To make the toffee filling, put the condensed milk, butter and sugar into a small pan and gently heat up, stirring all the time to dissolve the sugar.  Bring to the boil slowly, continuing to stir, then simmer for 2-3 minutes (the longer you simmer, the harder it will set).  Turn off the heat and let it cool down a little.
• Take the bases out of the fridge and spoon about a dessert spoon of the warm toffee into each case, put them back into the fridge to set until you want to serve them (this stage can be done the day before).
• When you want to finish them (bear in mind that they really need to be served within about 3 hours of making them) carefully take each toffee filled pie out of it's cake case and put on a plate.  Whip the cream with the icing sugar and vanilla extract until thick.   
• Cut each banana in half lengthways then slice into semi-circles, arrange 5 or 6 pieces onto each little pie.
• You can then pipe or dollop the cream on top, I like to pipe blobs (dare I say nipple shaped?) using a large round piping nozzle.
• Finish the mini banoffee pies with a grating of chocolate.  Serve then stand back and enjoy the wave of appreciation that will most certainly come your way!