Rfissa: Moroccan chicken and lentils with pappardelle pasta
A lovely chicken and lentil dish cooked in a beautiful fenugreek-flavoured broth.
SERVES
4
PEOPLE
PREP TIME
50
MINUTES
COOKING TIME
95
MINUTES
Ingredients
1 large chicken, about 1.8kg
3-4 onions, about 500g
1 tsp saffron threads
1 ½ tsp ground ginger
1 tbsp Ras el Hanout spice blend
1 ½ tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp flaky sea salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
250 ml olive oil
150g dried brown or green lentils
30g fenugreek seeds
15g fresh coriander
15g fresh flat-leaf parsley
600ml cold water
100g dried pappardelle pasta per person
Method
Portion the chicken into six pieces.
Begin by pulling a leg away from the body to see where it attaches. To remove the whole leg, first cut through the skin between the thigh and the breast, and then when you can see where the thigh meets the socket in the back, use a sharp knife to cut through that joint. Repeat with the other leg.
Next, remove the backbone. Lay the chicken breast side down and starting at the head end of the bird, cut through the rib cage on one side of the backbone with a kitchen shears or sharp knife. Repeat on the other side of the backbone to remove it completely.
Turn over the crown and using a heavy sharp knife, cut down the centre through the breastbone and cartilage to separate the breast. Be careful with this as you will need to use your weight to push down through the bone. You will now have two breast portions. I leave the wings on as this adds more flavour to the dish, but you can remove those if you wish. Cut each breast in half again across the middle and you have your six portions.
Peel and thinly slice the onions. Soak the saffron threads in a tablespoon or two of hot water for about 10 minutes.
Put the chicken in a large casserole dish along with the onion, saffron and its water, the ginger, Ras el Hanout, turmeric, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Mix well to combine the marinade and coat the chicken. Cover the pot and leave it to marinade in the fridge for at least six hours, or overnight if possible.
Put the lentils and fenugreek seeds into two separate bowls of cold water and allow them to soak overnight, or for at least six hours.
When the chicken has marinated, remove the pieces from the pot, leaving the onions and marinade there. Heat a heavy-based frying pan over a high heat and sear the chicken all over to brown the skin and seal the meat. Add the chicken back to the pan with the onions and marinade.
Drain and rinse the lentils and the fenugreek seeds and add them to the pan, along with 600ml of cold water. Stir well and bring the pot to a simmer.
Wash and chop the herbs, you can use the thin stalks of both herbs as they are full of flavour, just chop them finely and add to the pot.
When the pot starts to bubble reduce the heat, pop on the lid, and simmer for one hour. Check about thirty minutes in to make sure there is enough liquid in the pot and add another 200ml or so if needed.
Once the lentils are tender and the chicken is perfectly cooked your Rfissa is ready. Taste and add more seasoning if required.
Bring a big pot of salted water to the boil and pop in 100g or dried pasta per person. Cook the pappardelle for three to four minutes, until it is just cooked but still has some bite.
Drain the pasta, return it to the pot and add a ladleful of the lentils and broth from the Rfissa, stirring it in to keep the pasta moist.
Divide the pasta between individual dishes. Add a generous serving of lentils and broth and a portion of chicken to each dish. Roughly chop some more flat leaf parsley and scatter some over the top.
Serve with any remaining broth, lentils and chicken in the middle of the table so that everyone can help themselves to seconds. Some fresh crusty bread to soak up the broth is also highly recommended.
