Ras El Hanout Chicken with Tahini Lime Dressing

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Your own Moroccan feast in 25 minutes! Ras El Hanout Chicken with Tahini Lime Dressing served on a bed of fluffy couscous makes a wonderful chicken dinner with a bit of a difference! Succulent ras el hanout chicken thighs are quickly cooked under the grill, so they stay nice and moist! But the star of the show is definitely the tahini lime sauce! Make a lot of it - it's the best Tahini Sauce for Chicken out there!

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Ingredients and Substitutes

• chicken thighs: boneless and skinless.
• ras el hanout: you can buy it in most large supermarkets or make your own ras el hanout spice blend at home.
• honey: clear runny honey
• garlic clove: finely chopped. Use less if you don't like too much raw garlic.
• soy sauce: we used dark soy sauce. Use gluten-free tamari for gluten-free chicken (you will also need to substitute couscous if you want an entirely gluten-free meal).
• tahini: we love Sunita Whole Sesame Tahini or Meridian Light Tahini. The first one is darker and slightly bitter, and the second one is delightfully creamy and milder tasting (the latter is perfect for Creamy Tahini Pasta)
• lime: we will use both the zest and the juice, so choose the freshest juiciest unwaxed limes.
• couscous: regular or wholewheat. Alternatively, substitute with bulgur wheat or quinoa.
• stock cube: vegetable or chicken.
• cucumber: we used half of the long English cucumber.
• red onion: you will only need a small amount, otherwise it will overpower the rest of the flavours.
• fresh mint.

Vegetarian Version

If you are looking to make it vegetarian, this meal works wonderfully with some pan-fried tofu dusted with cornflour and ras el hanout spice mix. Make it vegan by using agave nectar instead of honey for the tahini lime dressing.

What is more, whilst we haven't yet tried it ourselves, we hear from our friends that chicken can be substituted with cauliflower to make it into a vegetarian meal.

Method: How to Make Ras El Hanout Chicken?

STEP 1: Prepare the Chicken

First, preheat the grill to high. Lay the chicken thighs in a single layer on an oven tray (you can line it with foil to reduce the washing up). Drizzle the chicken with a tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle the top with ras el hanout, salt and pepper. You can find a recipe here if you fancy blending your own ras el hanout spice mix. Grill the ras el hanout chicken thighs for 13-15 minutes, until fully cooked through.

STEP 2: Prepare the Couscous

Cut the cucumber in half lengthways. Using a teaspoon, scrape out the seeds. Then slice the cucumber thinly. Peel and thinly slice the red onion. Place the onion and cucumber in a bowl, season with salt and set aside.

Place couscous in a large bowl, crumble in a quarter of a stock cube and mix. Pour 140ml of the boiling water over the couscous and cover with a plate for 5 minutes.

STEP 3: Make the Tahini Lime Dressing

For the tahini lime sauce, mix tahini, honey, soy sauce, garlic, lime zest and juice and 2 tablespoon of olive oil in a small bowl. These simple ingredients make the best tahini sauce for chicken!

Step 4: Assemble and Enjoy

When couscous is cooked, fluff it with a fork and add the cucumber, onion, and roughly chopped mint. Mix and season with salt and pepper, if needed.

Divide the couscous between bowls, top with ras el hanout chicken thighs and serve the chicken with tahini lime dressing drizzled all over.

Recipe FAQs

Other Moroccan Recipes

For other Moroccan-inspired recipes, have a look at our recipes below:

• Moroccan Almond & Pistachio Briouat | Spiced Nut Filo Pastries
• North African Spiced Chickpea & Feta Pie

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