You can serve this cous cous on its own, with my griddled greens or with so many veggie or meat options, but I do love a roast chicken and this is a nice summery version.
I buy the best chicken I can get for my budget and drizzle with olive oil. I seasoned this bird with sumac, dried herbs, salt and pepper and then put a wedge of lemon and some garden herbs inside it.
I roasted it at 180c of 1½ hours in the top oven of my ESSE 990ELX, basting every ½ hour.
Meanwhile in the bottom oven of your ESSE, place a cooling rack of cherry tomatoes which you have sliced in ½ and seasoned with salt, pepper and thyme. Set the oven to 130c and semi dry the tomatoes. You can do these the night before in the hot plate of you ESSE.
For the Jewelled cous cous you will need:
- 200g cous cous
- 400ml hot stock (chicken or vegetable)
Mix the hot stock into the cous cous and cover and leave for 10 minutes. If you think it’s not quite fluffy and cooked enough after this time, then microwave for 1 minute.
Then add your jewels. For me something sweet, something salty and something fresh are the flavours I’m after as a basic combination. You can use what you want and what you prefer so this is a guide.
- Chopped fresh peppers
- Fresh herbs
- Spring onions
- Feta cheese
- Diced cucumber
- Pomegranate seeds
- Diced mango
- Sliced grapes
Last but by no means least – add your semi dried tomatoes. Mix it all together, adding any juices from your chicken. Portion up the chicken and serve.
Recipe by Dominique Ashford
