You love our chicken recipes, and this one is pretty classy as good old roast chicken goes.  In the meantime, watch this Friday space, because something special is coming this way very soon…

Ingredients

1 whole chicken, rinsed and patted dry

1 onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4 Tbsp olive oil

1 heaped tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander seeds

100 g sultanas

100 g almond flakes, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

125 g couscous

200 ml liquid chicken stock

1 cinnamon stick

1 star anise

For a baste: stir together (in a small bowl) 2 Tbsp honey and 4 Tbsp olive oil with 1 tsp ground cumin and a little salt and pepper.

Method

Heat the chicken stock and pour it over the couscous in a bowl. Stir immediately, then leave it for three minutes. Use a fork to flick the grains apart. Sauté the onions and garlic in a little olive oil with the sultanas, coriander and cumin. Stir this and the toasted flaked almonds into the couscous. Salt the inside of the bird, slip the whole cinnamon stick and the star anise into the cavity, and spoon in the couscous stuffing. If there’s couscous left over, leave it to one side to serve with the chicken later.

Tie the bird’s legs together, baste the skin all over (see the baste recipe above) and roast in a preheated 220℃ oven for 90 minutes, basting now and then. Leave it to rest in the turned-off oven for 20 minutes. DM/TGIFood

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