Chermoula Chicken Traybake
By OcadoLife
Published on 20 April 2022
Chermoula is a Moroccan rub that
works beautifully with chicken, and is made in different ways to give vivid
colours, from the dark green of herbs to the deep red of paprika or the rich
yellow of turmeric. In this traybake recipe by MasterChef winner and
restaurateur Shelina Permalloo, the chermoula is herby and fresh, bringing lots
of flavour to this chicken dish.Looking for more savoury traybake recipes? We’ve got you covered.Time and servings
1 hrTotal time
6Servings
1 hrCooking time
Ingredients
- 190 g of pitted green and black olives in oil
- 1 handful of mint leaves
- 1 tbsp of ground turmeric
- 1 tsp of salt
- 30 g of coriander
- 30 g of flat-leaf parsley, plus 1 handful for salad
- 1 tbsp of ground cumin
- 1 tbsp of ground coriander
- 1 tbsp of sweet smoked paprika
- 6 garlic cloves, 1 for paste, 1 crushed for salad
- 1 preserved lemon
- 5 tbsp of olive oil
- 8 skin-on chicken thighs
- 400 g of tin chickpeas, drained
- 3 medium carrots, cut into 2.5cm chunks
- 2 medium courgettes, grated
- 1 lemon, juiced, plus extra wedges for serving
Method
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4. Add all the ingredients for the chermoula paste to a blender, along with 5tbsp water. Blend to a thick paste, adding a little more water if needed. You can also chop everything finely and pound to a paste with a pestle and mortar.Step 2
Place the chicken, chickpeas and carrots in an ovenproof dish and rub 2 heaped tbsp of the chermoula paste over everything. Arrange so the chickpeas and carrots are on the base of the dish and the chicken nestles on top, skin-side up. Pour over 100ml water, put in the oven and cook for 45 mins, until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender.Step 3
Meanwhile, make the salad. Use your hands to squeeze any water out of the grated courgettes (or press them into a sieve). Place in a bowl with the rest of the salad ingredients and use the oil from the olives as a dressing. Toss everything together gently with your hands, to coat.Step 4
When cooked, remove the chicken from the oven and scatter with the parsley. Serve with lemon wedges for squeezing over, along with the courgette, olive and mint salad and some fresh bread. Leftover chermoula paste will keep in the fridge in a jar, topped up with oil, for up to 1 month.