Moroccan Spiced Grilled Chicken & Couscous Salad

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We really are having the most beautiful weather here in the UK. This is the type of summer we all dream of but only very rarely get.  It’s just lovely.  Its grilling weather, the type of weather you want to be enjoying out of doors.  We get so much rain over here, that when the sun shines, we really do make hay!

Or at least cook and eat Al Fresco if we can.  Oh, I do love a good BBQ, don’t you?  

I took full advantage of our new BBQ grill and temperatures in the 30′s yesterday to grill our chicken out of doors.  I love our new BBQ.  Its the nicest BBQ Grill we have ever had, and I can’t say enough about it!  But first the chicken! 

This lovely dish was adapted from two that I found in a cookery book I have by Clodagh McKenna entitled Homemade.  I love this book. Its a book I picked up a few years ago in a garden centre for next to nothing.

There was a recipe in the book for a Moroccan roasted chicken. The flavours sounded lovely and I thought they would adapt very well to grilled chicken pieces.  I was right.  ☺  I love it when that happens.

First I created a very simple spice paste/marinade. I put some boneless chicken thighs into a zip lock baggie and added the paste and rubbed it in really well and then popped the bag into the refrigerator to marinate for about an hour or so. I am sure you could leave it overnight if you wanted to.  I wouldn’t do it for less than an hour if you want the flavour to penetrate the chicken well. 

While the chicken was marinating I made the couscous salad. It also has Moroccan flavours  . . .  I love Moroccan flavours  . . .  cumin, coriander, cinnamon, garlic . . . lemon . . . olive oil . . . so delicious.

Middle Eastern food also often has fruit in it, dried fruit, so I added sultanas and you could certainly add chopped dried apricots as well, and maybe a few pine nuts for crunch.  There are chickpeas in the salad also . . . plus parsley, red onions and a punchy lemon/olive oil dressing.  I love chickpeas (garbanzo beans) but they don’t always like me!  ‘Nuff said! 

This salad would also be great in vegetarian style sandwiches or wraps mixed with goats cheese, and would be positively lovely served on a bed of rocket greens.  I did not have any yesterday. 

The chicken was grilled on the new BBQ over a medium high heat and was done perfectly in about 20 minutes. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs, and they were beautiful, with slightly crisped edges, along with succulent, well flavoured and tender meat. Altogether this was quite, quite delicious!

Serves 4

This is simple and delicious. (I know I always say that, but its true.) You can cook the chicken on the BBQ or in the oven. Its up to you. You will need to marinate the chicken pieces for at least an hour. 

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp mild chili powder

1 tsp sweet paprika

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

2 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed

2 TBS lemon juice

2 TBS light olive oil

8 – 10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

200g couscous (1 cup)

40g raisins (1/3 cup)

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

350ml hot chicken stock (1 1/2 cups)

100g tinned chick peas, drained and rinsed (about 1/2 cup)

2 TBS fresh lemon juice

3 TBS extra virgin olive oil

1/2 red onion, peeled and finely chopped

2 TBS finely chopped flat leaf parsley

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

First make the chicken and get it marinading.  Combine all of the spices, the olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning.  Put the chicken into a bowl or a zip lock bag.  Pour in the spice mixture and mix to coat generously. Place in the refrigerator to marinate for at least an hour. 

Meanwhile make the couscous.  Place the spices in a dry skillet and heat gently, stirring until quite fragrant. Tip into a bowl.  Add the dry couscous and raisins. Stir together.  Add the chicken stock, stir and cover with plastic cling film or a plate.  Leave to stand for 10 minutes.  Stir in the drained chick peas, lemon juice, olive oil, onions, parsley and seasoning.  Cover and chill until ready to serve. Bring to room temperature before serving. 

To cook the chicken, heat the grill or BBQ to medium high.  Place the chicken thighs onto the grill, top side down.  Grill for  10 minutes, then flip over and grill for an additional 5 to 10 minutes (depending on size) until the juices run clear. 

Serve the cooked chicken with the couscous. 

The Grill/BBQ we are using is the Space Grill 1800 3-Burner Gas Grill.  The stainless steel Space Grill is a revolutionary idea for modern families with a unique fold-away design which is perfect for garden patio grilling or even the high rise balcony. It fits in perfectly every where, and is as truly versatile as it is beautiful!  You can either mount it on an existing load bearing wall, or you can buy a specifically designed stand to mount it on.  

It arrived almost completely assembled.  In fact, it took Todd longer to break down our old BBQ for disposal, than it did for him to assemble the Space grill. Because we don’t own our own home, but are in a rental property, we opted to have the separate stand, rather than using a wall mount. Todd found putting the stand together very easy to do.  Once the stand/or wall are ready, mounting the grill on it is a very simple process.

This revolutionary, Australian designed, Chef Grade Stainless Steel grill folds out in about 10 seconds. There is no need for super human strength. Even I have found it quite easy. A simple pivot system changes space into a grill. It is really that easy! 

  

I can’t stress enough how simple it is to install, with the lid doubling as a splash back it is perfect for those small spaces. Simply light the (independently ignited) burners and start cooking. It has two sides,  with a stainless steel  grill and a cast iron griddle plate that  is flat on one side and ridged on the other. What more could anyone ask for?

• Folds away in seconds
• Sleek modern design
• Stainless Steel for rust resistance
• Massive cooking surface (640mm x 480mm)
• Patented auto fold-down drip tray
• 3 separate individual-ignition burners
• Perfect for apartments to mansions
• Lid doubles as a splash-back
• Fast to install
• Multiple cooking plates
• Reversible cast iron flat / grill main plate
• Includes stainless flame grill plate
• No more ugly BBQ’s on the deck

Jose and Ariana came over to help us get it up and running. (Todd has a hernia and I didn’t want him lifting anything heavy!)  It really was very simple to assemble and get ready for use.  As Spaniards, they are no strangers to the art of BBQ/Grilling, and they fell right in love with it.  I predict after baby comes they might be buying one for their own home!  Its sleek and attractive, folds away conveniently after use and comes with a fabulous cover to keep it safe from the elements.  I can also attest to the fact that it cleans up like a dream!  The parts come off very easily for wiping clean, and that patented drip tray also removes very easily for wiping out and cleaning.  No fuss, no muss!  (And you know how much I like that concept!) We are ever so pleased with it!  If you would like to know more about it, or perhaps even to purchase one for your own use, do check out the Space Grill Site.

I really hope this lovely weather continues as I am keen to use this BBQ/Grill as much as I can this summer.  Our old BBQ really didn’t perform near as well and was a real faff to get lit and use. Not so this nifty piece of kit.  We are having all the Missionaries over on Monday for a BBQ to celebrate the combination 1st and 4th of July holidays and I can’t wait to show it to them!  In the meantime, I am sure we will be using it a few times before them.  With this gorgeous weather and its ease of use, there is really NO excuse not to!  Bon Appetit!