Complete free recipe

Braised Chicken with Capsicum over Couscous

Chicken thighs braised with capsicum and tomato until they shred under a fork, spooned with all their sauce over soft couscous, with yoghurt.

Braised Chicken with Capsicum over Couscous. Chicken thighs braised with capsicum and tomato until they shred under a fork, spooned with all their sauce over soft couscous, with yoghurt.
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Prep 15 minCook 55 minServes 4

Ingredients

Why metric?

Metric avoids regional spoon ambiguity. US uses 5 mL tsp, 15 mL tbsp and 240 mL cup. Small masses stay in grams unless a verified recipe conversion exists. More on measurements

  • 50 ml extra-virgin olive oil (45 g)
  • 800 g boneless skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 large brown onion, sliced (200 g)
  • 2 large red capsicums, sliced (400 g)
  • 3 garlic cloves, sliced (15 g)
  • 4 g smoked paprika
  • 400 g canned no-added-salt tomatoes
  • 100 ml reduced-salt chicken stock (100 g)
  • 2 g iodised table salt, plus more to taste
  • 260 g wholemeal couscous (dry)
  • 375 ml boiling water (375 g)
  • 10 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • 180 g Greek yoghurt, to serve
  • Ground black pepper, to taste

Method

  1. Warm two-thirds of the oil in a heavy casserole over medium-high heat and colour the chicken thighs for 3 minutes a side. You want flavour, not a crust. Set them aside.
  2. Add the remaining oil, then the onion and capsicum, and cook 10 minutes over medium heat until both have softened and the capsicum has lost its spring.
  3. Stir in the garlic and smoked paprika for 1 minute, then add the tomatoes, stock and salt and crush the whole tomatoes against the pan.
  4. Return the chicken, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 40-45 minutes, turning once, until it is at least 74C/165F and pulls into threads under a fork.
  5. Lift the thighs out, shred them with two forks and return them to the pan. If the sauce looks thin, reduce it for 5 minutes uncovered, but keep it soupy: this sauce is what carries the couscous.
  6. Put the couscous in a bowl with the boiling water, cover with a plate and leave 8 minutes, then fork through. It finishes at about 720 g.
  7. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt. Serve the chicken over the couscous with plenty of sauce, a spoonful of yoghurt on each plate and the parsley.

Safety and storage

Cook to
74°C / 165°F in the centre (poultry, including minced poultry)
Keeps
2 days refrigerated below 5°C
Reheat to
steaming hot, at least 60°C

The table gives poultry cuts as 74°C. Minced poultry is taken to the same temperature rather than the 71°C mince figure, because mincing spreads surface bacteria through the whole mass. Colour and clear juices are not a reliable test. Check the thickest part with a thermometer.

Cooked rice and pasta keep two days rather than three, so this dish takes the shorter time. Cool and cover within two hours, split large amounts into shallow containers, and reheat until steaming hot, at least 60°C.

Where these temperatures come from