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Halal-conscious recipe

Moroccan chicken couscous with dates

Jennifer Joyce's one-dish Moroccan chicken couscous with Halal chicken: browned thighs baked on wholewheat couscous in a lemony, cumin- and cinnamon-spiced Halal or vegetable stock with dates, almonds and parsley.

  • Cuisine Moroccan
  • Meal Main
  • Difficulty Easy
  • Yield 4 plates
  • Time 35 min
  • 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.

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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 dish is 500 g of skinless chicken thigh, which is Halal only from Halal-slaughtered birds, baked in 350 ml of chicken stock, which is a chicken product.

Skinless chicken thighs are browned and set on dry wholewheat couscous in a baking dish, then covered with a boiling mix of softened onion and garlic, lemon zest and juice, stock, cumin, cinnamon and chopped dates, scattered with flaked almonds and baked under foil for 20 minutes. The source tags it Moroccan. Two things need a Halal source: the chicken, and the stock, for which a Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegetable stock works (see stock cubes).

It follows Jennifer Joyce's Moroccan chicken couscous with dates for BBC Good Food, which serves four. The couscous goes into the dish dry, with the chicken, before the hot stock is poured over.

Finish with the remaining lemon zest and parsley.

Halal-critical ingredients

  • Chicken thigh 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 Bought chicken stock is a chicken product, and the UK's mainstream stock cubes contain uncertified chicken or meat fat. Use a Halal-certified chicken stock or a vegan vegetable stock. See Stock cubes.

Safe substitutes

  • Chicken thigh of unknown slaughter → 500 g Halal skinless chicken thigh
  • 350 ml chicken stock → 350 ml Halal-certified chicken stock or vegetable stock

Allergens

gluten (couscous), nuts (almonds)

Ingredients

Chicken and couscous

  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 500 g Halal skinless chicken thigh
  • 140 g wholewheat couscous
  • 2 onions, sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 2 lemons (zest of both, juice of 1)
  • 350 ml Halal-certified chicken stock, or vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 6 large dates, pitted and chopped (Medjool are nice)
  • 50 g flaked almonds
  • small bunch parsley, chopped

Method

  1. Brown the chicken. Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Season the chicken and cook for 10 minutes or until browned on both sides, then put it in a large baking dish with the dry couscous.
  2. Make the date stock. Heat the remaining oil in the pan, add the onions and garlic and cook for 5 minutes until softened. Add the zest and juice of 1 lemon with the stock, cumin, cinnamon and dates, and bring to the boil.
  3. Bake. Pour the date mixture over the chicken and couscous, sprinkle over the almonds, cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
  4. Serve. Serve sprinkled with the remaining lemon zest and the parsley.

How this recipe was researched

Method adapted from BBC Good Food's 'Moroccan chicken couscous with dates' by Jennifer Joyce, tagged Moroccan (serves 4: oven at 180C/160C fan/gas 4; 500 g skinless chicken thigh, seasoned, browned 10 minutes in 1 tbsp of 2 tbsp olive oil over a high heat and put in a large baking dish with 140 g dry wholewheat couscous; 2 sliced onions and 4 sliced garlic cloves softened 5 minutes in the rest of the oil; the zest of 1 of 2 lemons and the juice of 1, 350 ml chicken stock, 1 tsp each ground cumin and cinnamon and 6 large pitted, chopped dates brought to the boil; poured over the chicken and couscous, 50 g flaked almonds scattered over, covered with foil and baked 20 minutes; served with the remaining lemon zest and a small bunch of chopped parsley). We specified Halal chicken and a Halal-certified or vegetable stock; the last published step is split between baking and serving. Nothing else needed changing. Timings follow the published technique rather than a kitchen test.

Technique and ingredient sources

  1. Moroccan chicken couscous with dates — BBC Good Food Retrieved:

    By Jennifer Joyce, tagged Moroccan. Serves 4, prep 10 minutes, cook 25 minutes: chicken thighs browned 10 minutes and put in a baking dish with dry wholewheat couscous; onions and garlic softened, then lemon, stock, cumin, cinnamon and dates brought to the boil and poured over; almonds, foil, baked 20 minutes at 180C; lemon zest and parsley. We specified Halal chicken and stock.

  2. Chicken analysis — isithalal.food Retrieved:

    What makes chicken Halal: the slaughter.

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