Roast Chicken with Onion Sauce and Couscous Stuffing

Most “Jewish” dishes are Sabbath (Saturday) dishes because the Sabbath was the only time during the week Jews prepared special dishes.

They could be local dishes that they glamourised for the Sabbath. Stuffing a dish made it grand, and there was always more stuffing on the side. Birds were often pot roasted because most people in Morocco did not have ovens. The onion sauce takes time because a large quantity of onions take about an hour to cook down.

Serves 6

1 large chicken Juice of ½ a lemon 1½ tbsp olive oil Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the Sauce: 1kg (2 lb) onions, sliced 4 tbsp sunflower oil Salt and pepper Pinch of saffron (powder or pistils) ¼ tsp ginger 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tbsp honey

For the Couscous Stuffing: 250g (9ozs) packet couscous 400ml (14fl ozs) chicken stock (you can use 1 stock cube) Salt ½ tsp cinnamon 4 tbsp sunflower oil 100g (4ozs) blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped 50g (2ozs) pistachios, coarsely chopped 50g (2ozs) pine nuts, toasted 50g (2ozs) raisins soaked in water for 30 minutes

In a wide baking dish rub the chicken with a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Put it breast-side down so that the fat runs down and prevents the breasts from drying out, and pour into the dish about a small teacup of water.

Cook in an oven pre-heated to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6 for 40 minutes per kilo. Turn the chicken breast-side up after about 50 minutes. Test to see that it is ready by cutting into a thigh with a pointed knife. The juices should run clear, not pink.

For the onion sauce, put the onions in a wide pan with 4 tablespoons of sunflower oil, and cook, covered, over very low heat for 30-45 minutes until they are very soft, adding salt and pepper, and stirring occasionally. They will stew in their own juice. Remove the lid and stir occasionally until the onions are melting soft and golden. Add cinnamon, saffron, ginger and honey and cook for a few minutes. In all it should take about 1 hour.

Put the couscous in a bowl. Warm the stock, adding a little salt (take into account the saltiness of the stock) and the cinnamon.

Pour 300ml (10fl ozs) of the stock — the same measured volume as the couscous — over the couscous, mix very well and leave for 20 minutes until the couscous has absorbed the stock. Then stir in the oil and break up any lumps with a fork. Rub the grain between your hands, to air it and make it light and fluffy. Stir in the chopped almonds and pistachios (you can chop them in the food processor), the pine nuts and raisins, and mix well. Cover the dish with foil. All you will need is to heat it through for 20 minutes in a 200ºC/400°F/Gas Mark 6 oven before serving. Pour the remaining stock on top.

Cut the chicken into 6 serving pieces, remove the carcass, arrange them in a wide serving dish and pour the onion sauce on top and let it mix with the gravy. Heat through at the same time as the couscous stuffing.

Serve the two separately, or the chicken and sauce on top of the couscous stuffing.