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Halal-conscious recipe

Lemony chicken stew with giant couscous

Cassie Best's Moroccan-style one-pot with Halal chicken: thighs simmered with caramelised onion, tagine paste, tomatoes with olives, preserved lemon, honey and a Halal or vegetable stock cube, finished with giant couscous and parsley.

  • Cuisine Moroccan
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 bowls
  • Time 1h 25m
  • Last updated

Each method follows published technique for the dish, and every Halal substitution is checked against the ingredient pages we cite. Photographs come from our ingredient library rather than the finished dish.

Printable view
Steamed couscous with vegetables
Photograph from our ingredient library: steamed couscous with vegetables, not the finished dish from this recipe.

Why Halal checks matter here

The stew is 500 g of skinless chicken thighs, which are Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds, cooked with a chicken stock cube, which is a chicken product.

Chicken thigh chunks are browned beside caramelised onions, then simmered with tagine paste, tomatoes with olives, oregano, chopped preserved lemon, honey and stock, and finished with giant couscous cooked in the same pot and a handful of parsley. The source calls it a Moroccan-style one-pot. Two things need a Halal source: the chicken, and the stock cube, for which a Halal-certified chicken cube or a vegetable cube works (see stock cubes).

It follows Cassie Best's lemony chicken stew with giant couscous for BBC Good Food, which serves four. The source suggests keeping it on a very low heat for up to 4 hours when people eat at different times, cooking 50 g of couscous per portion as each is served.

Stir in the parsley just before serving.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Chicken thighs Chicken is a Halal bird, but slaughter decides, and chicken without a Halal mark doesn't say how the bird was slaughtered. Buy the chicken from a Halal butcher or in a certified pack. See Chicken.
  • Chicken stock cube A bought chicken stock cube is a chicken product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified chicken stock cube or a vegan vegetable stock cube. See Stock cubes.

Safe substitutes

  • Chicken thighs of unknown slaughter → 500 g Halal skinless boneless chicken thighs
  • Chicken stock cube → A Halal-certified chicken stock cube, or a vegetable stock cube

Allergens

gluten (giant couscous)

Ingredients

Stew

  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 onions, chopped
  • 500 g Halal skinless boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 2–3 chunks
  • 3 tbsp tagine paste (or 2 tbsp ras el hanout)
  • 2 x 400 g cans of tomatoes with chopped mixed olives
  • small handful fresh oregano leaves, chopped
  • 2 preserved lemons, flesh removed, skin rinsed and finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp clear honey
  • 1 Halal-certified chicken stock cube, or a vegetable stock cube

To finish

  • 200 g giant couscous
  • handful parsley, chopped

Method

  1. Caramelise the onions. Heat the oil in a large flameproof casserole with a lid. Add the onions and cook for 10 minutes until they start to caramelise.
  2. Brown the chicken. Push the onions to one side of the dish and add the chicken. Cook over a high heat for about 5 minutes until the chicken is browning.
  3. Simmer. Add the tagine paste, tomatoes, oregano, preserved lemons and honey, and crumble in the stock cube. Fill one of the tomato cans halfway with water and pour it in. Season with a little salt and plenty of black pepper, stir well, cover and simmer gently for 40 minutes, or for up to 4 hours over a very low heat if people are eating at different times.
  4. Add the couscous and serve. Add the couscous 10 minutes before you are ready to serve, cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until cooked. For anyone eating later, scoop a portion into a pan with 50 g couscous and cook it the same way. Stir in some parsley just before serving.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Lemony chicken stew with giant couscous' by Cassie Best, which calls it a Moroccan-style one-pot (serves 4: 2 chopped onions cooked 10 minutes in 1 tbsp olive oil in a large flameproof casserole until starting to caramelise; 500 g skinless boneless chicken thighs, each cut into 2 or 3 chunks, browned about 5 minutes over a high heat; 3 tbsp tagine paste or 2 tbsp ras el hanout, 2 x 400 g cans of tomatoes with chopped mixed olives, a small handful of chopped fresh oregano, 2 preserved lemons with the flesh removed and the skin rinsed and finely chopped, 2 tbsp clear honey and a crumbled chicken stock cube added with half a can of water, seasoned with a little salt and plenty of black pepper, covered and simmered 40 minutes, or up to 4 hours over a very low heat; 200 g giant couscous added 10 minutes before serving and simmered covered until cooked, or 50 g per portion for anyone eating later; a handful of chopped parsley stirred in). We specified Halal chicken and a Halal-certified or vegetable stock cube; the published steps are split at their natural breaks. Nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Lemony chicken stew with giant couscous — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Cassie Best, described as a Moroccan-style one-pot. Serves 4, prep 25 minutes, cook 1 hour: onions caramelised; chicken thighs browned; tagine paste, tomatoes with olives, oregano, preserved lemon, honey and a stock cube simmered 40 minutes (or up to 4 hours); giant couscous for the last 10 minutes; parsley. We specified Halal chicken and stock.

  2. Chicken analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes chicken Halal: the slaughter.

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