Usually, at Boxed Halal, we share with you typical and world-renowned recipes from Pakistan and the Middle East. The Lemon Roast Chicken with Couscous recipe is inspired by Hayden Quinn's recipe. It is not a typical recipe, but its flavors, and the combination of ingredients, definitely reminds us of Turkey.
This complete tray consists of a roasted chicken marinated with yogurt. Served on a bed of couscous, and accompanied by roasted onions, roasted sweet potatoes, roasted peppers, and roasted garlic. All this, decorated with fresh mint leaves and lime wedges. It is a real delight. It is a complete dish, which does not need other more garnishes.
How is Yogurt Roast Chicken marinated?
Yogurt is the essential component of the chicken marinade. But as you would expect in Turkish cuisine, many spices will give it that unique flavor. In this case, after cleaning the chicken and removing the skin. We season it with yogurt, lime juice, coriander seeds, ground cumin, pepper, grated fresh ginger, paprika, and salt.
The secret is to leave this chicken resting in the marinade for at least three hours. Then it should be cooked in the oven on a roasting tray, and that's it.
Garnishes for Lemon Roast Chicken with Couscous
Besides the Couscous, this tray has a variety of flavors and textures that makes it so appetizing. Here we list them:
Roasted garlic. The first item is roasted garlic. For this recipe, we use two heads of garlic, cut in half and roasted. When roasted, the garlic loses its intense flavor and is very pleasant. Remember to cook with skin.
Roasted onion. It is prepared in a similar way to garlic. We chose red onion, to make the tray more colorful, but you can use any variety of onion, white or yellow.
Sweet Potato. Cooking sweet potatoes is very easy. You have to wash them very well with a brush, without peeling them. Then, they are wrap in aluminum foil and baked while the chicken is roasting. If you wish, after they are soft, you can brown them over high heat in a pan with a pinch of oil.
Roasted Pepper. The roasted pepper is cook next to the chicken, whole, with skin and seeds. Cut into julienne before serving.
Couscous. Couscous bed preparation couldn't be easier. You only have to heat two cups of chicken broth, until they boil, add the couscous and turn off immediately. Cover the pot and let the couscous hydrate in the water and that's it.
1 cup of yogurt, 200 g., Unsweetened and unflavored
1 tsp
coriander seeds, crushed
2 tbsp
of lime juice
2
garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp
of cumin powder
1 tbsp of ginger, fresh, grated. Or 1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp
of paprika
1 tbsp
of salt
For the garnish:
1 red bell pepper, 150 g. approx.
3 sweet
potatoes, 800 g. approx.
1 ½ cups of couscous, 200 g. approx.
3 cups
of chicken broth
2 small
red onion, 70 g. each
2 small
garlic heads
2
lemons, sliced
2 tbsp of olive oil
Salt
and pepper to taste
Directions
Clean the chicken, remove the skin, and any excess fat. Cut it into
large pieces. Rinse the chicken pieces and pat them dry with a kitchen
towel.
Place the chicken in pieces in a large bowl and season. Sprinkle
with the coriander seeds, garlic, lime juice, cumin powder, ginger,
paprika, and salt. Rub the chicken very well with the spices. Then cover
with the yogurt. Make sure all the chicken meat is in contact with the
yogurt. Put a lid on the bowl and let it sit in the fridge for about two
to three hours.
Meanwhile wash the sweet potatoes with a brush, under running
water, and wrap them in aluminum foil. Wash the pepper very well and
reserve. Wash the onions and peel them. Then cut them into two halves.
Wash the garlic heads and cut them in half. Reserve
all these ingredients for roasting.
Place the chicken broth in a small saucepan and bring it to the
stove over medium heat. When it starts to boil, add the couscous, and stir
with a spoon so that all the couscous is moistened. Turn off the cooker immediately
and put a lid on the pot to allow the couscous to hydrate. This process
takes about half an hour. Then uncover and shell the couscous. It will
be ready for the tray.
When the chicken is well marinated, remove it from the
refrigerator. Preheat the oven to 160 °C / 320 °F.
Arrange a roasting pan, and distribute the chicken pieces, the
chopped onion, the whole red pepper, and the garlic heads on it. Bake for
approximately 45 minutes, along with the sweet potatoes wrapped in foil. Cook it
all together, until golden brown.
Remove the tray from the oven and proceed to serve. Serve a bed of
couscous on a tray, top with the chicken pieces, with the onions and
roasted garlic.
Cut the stem of the pepper, extract the veins and seeds. Then cut
it into julienne. Serve it inside the tray.
Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven and remove the aluminium
foil. Cut them into pieces. If you want you can peel them, it is optional.
Serve them inside the
tray.
Finally, garnish with fresh mint leaves and sliced lime. Serve
with yogurt sauce.