CHICKEN AND VEGETABLE MOROCCAN INSPIRED STEW.

Something a little different tonight. Big on spice and big on flavour. Vibrant with colour and definitely a feast for the eyes! Also amazing as a vegetarian dish.

1 tsp vegetable stock paste or 1 stock cube.

Green olives halved (I didn’t have any on hand).

Preheat your oven to 180c. Begin by cutting the eggplant, zucchini and sweet potato in large chunks, placing them in a tray, lightly drizzling over olive oil and a sprinkling of salt. Bake until golden.

Place a pot of water over medium high heat and poach the chicken till cooked. Once cooked let it cool. (You can definitely cook the chicken in the sauce, though I wanted shredded chicken).

To prepare the sauce, add the olive oil and onion to a deep wide pan and caramelise for approximately 3 minutes. Add the roasted garlic and sauté for a another minute, followed by the harissa and ground spices.

Dilute the stock paste or cube in the water and pour into the pan with the crushed tomatoes. Grate in the orange zest and place the lid on to simmer for approximately 5 mins. During this time begin shredding your chicken then add it to sauce along with the chick peas and stir. Add the roasted vegetables and stir them through very gently. Allow to simmer for approximately 20 minutes (if you need to add more water you can do so to create more of a sauce as it simmers). Check for seasoning.

Once ready, serve with couscous and garnish with plenty of currants, sliced almonds, coriander and green olives (or parsley).