This being the month of Christmas, a holiday celebrated among 160 of the 195 countries that make up this planet, I’ve decided to do a monthly installment of how different countries around the world celebrate this special holiday in their kitchens and feature their signature holiday meals. Some may be sides, some may be mains, maybe a dessert or two, some may be a complete dinner. Only time will tell by which country my girls have randomly pulled out of Santa’s hat.
The last day of Christmas brings us to Morocco. I’ve always been fascinated with this mystical country, a cuisine that is a perfect blend of Mediterranean and North African, full of wonderful spices, grains, fruits and nuts. But, my intrigue with the country most likely started when I was a young child on a trip to...Disney World. For, at the Epcot Center, I was enamored with a group of men sitting and playing instruments, resulting in the then-mysterious music in a minor key, all while rolling their necks and heads, simultaneously spinning the tassels on their fezzes. Below are two recipes I sourced while making this flavorful, juicy bird and wonderfully tender, “hand-loved” couscous. I’ve never before rolled couscous between my oiled hands, but it is absolutely a perfect technique in achieving the right texture. Just look at that beautifully plump couscous and succulent bird!
Moroccan-Spiced Stuffed Chicken with Massaged Couscous
adapted from Moroccan-Spiced Turkey, Food & Wine, Marcus Samuelsson
While the original recipe calls for a turkey, I made this on a weeknight and quickly roasted a chicken. This pairs well with my Cranberry Relish, as well as this store-bought onion jam which really made the couscous sing.
Small head of garlic, roasted
~4 lb whole chicken
Small lemon, quartered
2 sage sprigs + 6 add’l sage leaves
Juice from half of a grapefruit
Juice from half of a navel orange
Juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime
2 tbsp ras el hanout
Prepared couscous (see recipe below)
Slice the bottom third of a garlic bulb off. Drizzle with olive oil, wrap in foil, and place in a 400 degrees oven and roast for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, unpackage and dry your chicken. Season the cavity with Kosher salt and black pepper. Stuff the chicken with the lemon and sage sprigs. Truss the bird, season the skin with Kosher salt and black pepper and set on a rack-lined baking sheet. Set aside and prepare the spice rub.
Mince the additional sage leaves.
In a medium-sized bowl, combine the citrus juices, ras el hanout and sage leaves. At this point, your garlic should be just about roasted. When it’s ready, squeeze the cloves from the bulb into the herb and citrus-spice mixture and whisk to combine.
Brush the citrus-garlic mixture (“CGM”) all over the chicken and place in the oven on the lower-third rack. After 30 minutes, brush more CGM on the chicken and reduce the oven temperature to 325. Continue cooking for about another hour, basting every 20 minutes with additional CGM.
While the chicken roasts, prepare the couscous.
Start monitoring the temperature of the chicken after about 80 minutes of cooking and pull from the oven when the thigh meat registers 165. Over the course of cooking, your chicken will turn dark brown, do not be alarmed that it is burning, this is simply the work of the delicious, brown CGM. Let the chicken rest for about 10 minutes prior to carving.
Drizzle the sliced chicken with any reserved pan juices. Serve with couscous (recipe below) and other items mentioned in the recipe notes above.
Moroccan-Style Couscous
adapted from Food & Wine, Michael Bensara
4 cups of dried couscous
3.75 cups of chicken stock
⅓ cup of vegetable oil
2 tsp salt
½ tsp white pepper
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
Pinch of saffron threads
Pour the couscous into a large bowl.
In a small pot, combine the remaining ingredients, crumbling the saffron threads with your fingertips as you drop them into the pot. Bring to a boil. Cover the pot and turn off the heat.
Let the contents steep for 10 minutes.
After steeping, return the liquid to a boil, then carefully pour over all of the couscous grains. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let stand for 10 minutes.
After 10 minutes, lightly coat your hands with olive oil and massage the couscous in the palms of your hands. Cover with the towel and let the couscous stand for 30 minutes. Repeat the hand-massaging process half-way through, and again at the end, to break up any clumps. Reserve until ready to serve the meal.
If the couscous has been resting a long time, place the bowl over a pot of boiling water to gently rewarm just prior to serving the meal.
______________________________ Copyright 2022, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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