Ras el Hanout Chicken with Spicy Couscous

Spicy couscous topped with ras el hanout chicken is a family favourite dinner dish. This easy spicy couscous recipe is quick to cook, ideal for mid-week dinners. Top the spiced couscous with ras el hanout chicken breast, which is very aromatic with mild chilli heat, perfect for family dining.

This Moroccan spiced couscous dish is ideal for families who enjoy a hit of spice, without too much searing chilli heat. The spices can be easily adjusted to suit your palette, you can add as much or as little chilli as you wish. If there's a spice you don't like the flavour of, leave it out.

Some say couscous is bland, and on its own coucous is bland. However, couscous takes on flavours really well, the trick is to flavour the couscous. Add some spices, fresh herbs, good stock, acids like vinegar or a squeeze lemon juice, and you have an entirely different dish.

Ras el hanout chicken breast is an easy addition to the spiced couscous and takes minutes to prepare and cook. I like to add a generous handful of pomegranate seeds, the burst of juice and sweetness from the pomegranate elevates the dish.

Why you'll love this recipe

• An aromatic dish where the chilli heat can be adjusted to suit your palette.
• Enhance the flavours by marinating the chicken earlier in the day and storing in the refrigerator until you are ready to cook.
• Ready in less than 40 minutes making this a perfect mid week dinner dish.
• Feed a crowd as this recipe can be easily doubled up.

Recipe ingredients

• Oil - I like to use olive oil in this recipe both to marinade and saute the chicken, and also to saute the vegetables in the couscous. You can substitute with another oil of your choosing.
• Ras el hanout - I like to marinade the chicken in ras el hanout which is a mild blend of spices popular in North African cuisine.
• Chicken - for this recipe I like to use chicken breast, sliced into smaller pieces.
• Pomegranate - I use the seeds of a pomegranate to garnish the dish. Pomegranate not only adds colour and sweetness, but lovely crunch to the couscous too.
  • Fresh herbs - I also garnish the dish with fresh herbs like mint, parsley or coriander (cilantro).

Spicy couscous recipe ingredients

• Butter - I use butter to saute the vegetables, and also fork some extra butter through the couscous at the end of the cook to add flavour and separate it out and stop clumps forming.
• Vegetables - I saute a variety of vegetables as the base of the couscous, including banana shallots, red bell pepper, red chilli and freshly crushed cloves of garlic.
• Dry spices - I use a combination of dry whole spices in this recipe, which I grind down in a pestle and mortar. The spices I use include cinnamon stick, cardamon pods, coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin seeds and red chilli flakes (which can be adjusted to taste depending on how spicy you like your food).
• Salt - I like to grind the spices with a teaspoon of sea salt. Not only does this season the couscous, but the rough salt helps to break down the whole spices.
• Vinegar - I like to add red wine vinegar which adds acidity to the dish.
• Couscous - I like to use regular couscous in this recipe.
• Stock - I use vegetable stock to cook the coucous in, you can also use chicken stock.

How to make spicy couscous with ras el hanout chicken

• Place 1 tablespoon of the olive oil into a bowl, along with the ras el hanout spice, and mix to combine. Add the chicken and stir well to coat. Set aside until you are ready to cook. (You can marinade the chicken for longer if you have time).
• To prepare the couscous, heat a tablespoon of olive oil and half the butter in a heavy based saucepan over a medium heat, add the vegetables and saute gently for 5 minutes. The vegetables should soften but not colour.

• While the vegetables are cooking, place the dried spices for the couscous in a pestle and mortar along with the salt and grind down to a powder.
• Add the spices to the saucepan and continue to saute gently with the vegetables for a further 2 minutes.

• Lower the heat and add the wine vinegar to the pan, stirring to combine. Leave this to cook away for a further 5 minutes.
• Once the vegetables and spices are ready add the couscous and stir.

• Take the pan off the heat, pour over the vegetable stock, stir well to combine, place on the pan lid and set aside to allow the water to be absorbed.
• Meanwhile heat up the remaining tablespoon of olive oil in a non stick frying pan and once hot add the chicken and any of the remaining marinade.

• Stir fry the chicken until golden and cooked through.
• Just before serving fork the remaining half of the butter through the couscous to separate out the grains.
• Serve the couscous in warm bowls with the chicken on top. Garnish with a generous helping of pomegranate seeds and freshly chopped herbs.

Recipe variations

• This recipe uses chicken breast, but you could also make the dish using boneless, skinless chicken thighs.
• For a plant based dinner top the spicy couscous with veggies instead, swapping the chicken for ras el hanout roasted vegetables.
• The couscous uses spices I enjoy the flavour of, but feel free to adapt the spices to your own tastes.
• Swap shallot of red onion in the couscous, red onions is a great swap for shallots as it has a mild flavour.
• Add other vegetables like courgettes (zucchini), aubergine (eggplant), carrot or celery into the couscous.
• I use both fresh chilli and dried chilli flakes in the couscous, but feel free to adjust the chilli heat to taste.
• I use red wine vinegar to add acidity to the couscous, but you could also use white wine vinegar, sherry vinegar or apple cider vinegar. Or try swapping vinegar for another acid like freshly squeezed lemon or orange juice.
• At the end of the cook feel free to stir through other ingredients before serving. Try adding dried fruits (sultanas, raisins, apricots), fresh herbs (like mint, parsley or coriander), or toasted nuts (try pine nuts or flakes almonds).

Serving suggestions

I like to serve the ras el hanout chicken on top of the couscous, or chop the chicken smaller and stir it through the couscous. A scattering of pomegranate seeds adds a pop of sweetness to the dish and I like to finish with some freshly chopped herbs.

Make a vegan spicy couscous by swapping the butter for a dairy free alternative. You can also top the couscous with some ras el hanout roasted vegetables in place of the chicken.

In this dish the couscous is served hot, but leftover couscous can be cooled and stored in the refrigerator. It makes a great cold spicy couscous salad for lunch the next day.

You can also serve ras el hanout chicken on it's own without the couscous. My kids love it on a flat bread with a spoon of thick Greek yogurt, mixed salad greens and a handful of pomegranate seeds.

Useful hints and tips

1. Marinade the chicken in the morning and store in the fridge until ready to cook. This will intensify the flavour.
2. Adjust the spicing to suit your own palette, you can make this dish as spicy or mild as you wish.
3. Always fork some butter through the couscous at the end of the cook as this helps to separate out the couscous so you don't have big clumps of it sticking together.
4. Allergy advice: egg free, soya free and nut free. For comprehensive and detailed allergy advice go to Allergy UK.

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Additional recipe suggestions

If you like this recipe then try some of these great tasting recipes:

• Hake with Lemon Couscous
• Chicken Salad with Pomegranate & Harissa
• Bulgur Wheat Risotto with Asparagus & Pancetta
• Chicken Pilaf

It is a great dish to serve as part of a mezze platter. For more recipes read my Easy Mezze Platter Ideas post.

Looking for inspiration for feeding the family mid week, then take a look at my Ultimate Guide to Family Dinners post which is full of useful hints, tips and recipes.