Roast Moroccan chicken with a Date & Pistachio Stuffing

This recipe is amazing! If you are looking for something new, delicious and impressive this is it. A roasted chicken filled with couscous, dates, pistachios, cumin and coriander!

Ingredients:
1 box of couscous (1/2 cup)
10 dates, pitted
1/4 cup of pistachios, roughly crushed
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 small yellow onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup Olive oil
1 cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon of honey
1.8 kg whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry
salt/pepper

Instructions:
1. Rinse the chicken and pat dry with paper towels. The inside cavity should be patted dry as well. Sprinkle some into the cavity and set aside.

2. Prepare the couscous. If you are buying a box of couscous (Near east brand or store brand just use the box and you can add the packet, any of their flavors like garlic or pine nut flavors will be fine). If you have loose couscous measure out 1/2 cup. Follow the instructions on the box with how much water to boil and oil to add. You can even cook it in the microwave. When it is done, set it aside in a medium sized mixing bowl.

3. In a small pot, heat the onion and garlic in 4 tablespoons of olive oil until brown over a small flame (medium heat). Add in the dates, 1 tsp cumin, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp coriander and mix well. Continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add the mixture to the couscous, add the pistachios and the cinnamon stick and mix well.  

4. Stuff the cavity of the chicken with the filling using a large spoon. There may be some extra and you can cook it on the side. This stuffing is really enjoyable. I recommend doubling the stuffing recipe, and cooking an additional amount separate to serve on the side.

5. Once filled, truss (tie) the chicken with kitchen string. A picture with steps on how to properly tie the chicken is at the of this post. I do my own little version of this, as long as the legs are tied up and together, you are pretty much all set.

6. Once the chicken has been stuffed and trussed, dress the outside of the chicken. In a small bowl, mix the 1/4 cup of olive oil, honey, 1/2 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. If you enjoy the spices, you can sprinkle a small additional amount of cumin over the entire chicken.

7. Cook at 350 C for an hour to an hour and a half. Because of the honey in the brushing and the stuffing, I do not recommend a higher temperature for a shorter duration. I say this because it is stuffed, so the heat can't enter the cavity of the chicken. You can end up with an un-evenly cooked chicken. If you cook it at 400 for 45 minutes, it may look done but the inside will still be raw. Also the honey will burn at a higher temperature, causing your chicken skin to blacken instead of brown. So, I would go low and slow. 350 for an hour, hour and a half. Use your meat thermometer to double check if it is ready. Juices should run clear.

This dish can be served with additional stuffing, pumpkin squares or spinach. Enjoy!

My chicken blacked because of the honey and the high temperature. So I recommend lower temperatures and a longer cooking time. This is my new cat, she watched me cook. 

Zsa Zsa highly recommends this recipe.

 

How to Truss a chicken.