I love the versatility of roast chicken. Whether it is roasted with lemon and rosemary or rubbed with tasty spices and marinades, a whole roasted chicken never disappoints at a dinner table or at any occasion for that matter.
If you are looking for good quality birds however, you can be easily disappointed by some supermarkets that stock fatty, hormone grown chickens. I always buy free range or organic, I really don’t mind paying a little extra for good quality meat.
Talking about good quality, this pretty bird I have in this recipe was delivered by the meat specialists from Biltong@za. Let me just tell you, this was a huge 1.7kg chicken – absolutely mouthwatering and juicy.
I decided that I wanted to spice things up a little with this recipe and used a blend of Moroccan spices to rub the chicken with – stuffing it with the most gorgeous giant couscous and wild mushroom filling.
This recipe of Moroccan Roast Chicken with Couscous Stuffing was so easy and simple, and I love that a whole meal was created using one casserole dish and my oven. Create your own exotic version of this meal by adding prunes or raisins to the couscous filling, making it sweet and sticky.
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.
| Prep Time | 15 min |
| Cook Time | 1,40 min |
| Servings | people |
- 10 ml ground cinnamon
- 10 ml ground coriander
- 10 ml ground cumin
- 5 ml paprika
- salt and black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil to rub chicken
- 1 1.5kg free range chicken
- 10 ml olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 1 onion finely chopped
- handful chives chopped fine
- 150 gr exotic mushroom mix
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 5 ml dried mixed herbs
- 1 lemon juice retained
- 1 cup giant couscous cooked
Ingredients Spice Rub
Stuffing
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- First off, add all the ingredients for the spice rub in a mixing bowl, mix and rub all over the chicken, getting in all the right places. Set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, heat the olive oil and sauté the garlic and onion until translucent.
- Add the chives and mushrooms, turmeric and dried herbs and sauté for another few minutes.
- Drizzle with lemon juice and add the cooked couscous. Mix through and set aside to cool.
- Open the bird’s hind legs, and stuff the cavity of the chicken with stuffing.
- Tie the drumsticks together, and bake at 190 degrees Celsius covered, for 1 hour.
- After an hour, remove from oven, open lid and bake for another 40 minutes until crispy. Serve with grilled veg and salad.
