Moroccan Cuisine
Chicken ingredients:
- 1 roasting chicken.
- 2 cloves garlic finely diced.
- 2 lemon juice.
- ½ tbsp zest of lemon.
- ½ cooking onion.
- 1 tbsp harissa spice blend.
- 2 tbsp olive oil.
- ½ tbsp salt.
- ½ tsp pepper.
Brine ingredients:
- ½ tbsp turmeric.
- ½ tbsp cumin.
- 1 ½ tbsp salt.
- Water to cover.
Directions:
- Mix the brine ingredients together,
stirring well.
- Add in the chicken and brine for 1
hour to overnight. It should come out a wild yellow colour.
- Mix the harissa, lemon zest, salt
and pepper in a small bowl and divide in half.
- Combine one half with the diced
garlic and the olive oil and set the other half aside.
- Loosen the skin of the chicken
breast by vigorously rubbing back and forth like a deep massage.
- Starting at the neck, insert a
boning knife under the massaged skin and use it to create a cavity between the
skin and the breasts.
- Use your fingers to stuff the
un-oiled harissa mixture under the skin and massage it around to spread it
evenly.
- Take the onion and lemon and insert
them into the body cavity of the chicken. As it cooks these will release
moisture and acid and will result in a more moist chicken.
- Rub the oiled harissa mix all over
the outside of the chicken.
- Insert the chicken in a 450F oven about
1.3 hours or for until juices run clear or a meat thermometer reads 180F.
- The high roasting temperature is
important to keeping the chicken moist.
- Serve with roast veggies, olives
and cous cous.