Ras El Hanout Baked Chicken

This is a perfect midweek “throw it all in one pot and cook” dish which packs the most ridiculous flavour punch while being the most low-effort dinner I’ve made in a while. You could use skin-on chicken thighs (use 8) but I don’t really like those.

Ras-El-Hanout is a fabulous mix of spices. I got mine from a little deli, but I’m sure I’ve seen it in world food aisles of bigger grocery shops. It means “head of the shop” and is usually made up of the best of spices. The exact spices and quantities are not set in stone, but usually combine all of the delicious ones – cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, cardamom etc. Mine had rose petals in it too!

This is a full on one pot dish – everything in an oven-proof dish, bake, serve. So quick. So delicious. So what are you waiting for?

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 180g basmati rice, rinsed and drained
• 1 red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 3 tsp ras-el-hanout
• 6 dates, pitted and chopped
• 1/2 a head of broccoli, chopped small
• 600ml chicken stock
• Salt and pepper
• 3-4 large chicken breasts, halved
• Drizzle olive oil

Method

THIS IS SO EASY.  Bang the oven on to 200 degrees C.

Rinse the rice until it runs clear. Put in a casserole dish. Add the onion, garlic, spices, dates and broocoli and mix together.

Stir through the stock.

Add the chicken on top, and drizzle the olive oil over the chicken.

Bake for 25-30 minutes.

Serve with something nice on the side, like salad or bread (but it is also great on its own!).