Frango com cuscuz | Chicken with couscous

(switch to English)

Fiz esta receita num Domingo. Estava a nevar em Londres - começou logo de manhã e manteve-se por boa parte do dia. Apetecia ficar em casa, de aquecimento ligado, sem grandes aventuras pela rua. Mas primeiro era preciso pensar no almoço.

Aproveitei uma pausa na neve para ir num instante ao supermercado. Tinha encontrado esta receita no site Good Food, da BBC, e parecia uma boa ideia: a combinação do frango com as especiarias, o cuscuz, o limão e as azeitonas prometia. Só precisava de meia dúzia de ingredientes e uma hora na cozinha. Comprei o que precisava, voltei para casa antes da neve recomeçar a cair e meti mãos à obra.

Os aromas encheram a casa num instante - e a promessa foi cumprida. O frango estava saboroso, o cuscuz ainda mais. Almoçámos nestes tons de amarelo, enquanto lá fora a rua e a cidade se cobriam de branco. Dias bons.

---

Frango com cuscuz

Ingredientes ( 4 pessoas )

• 8 coxas de frango
• 2 colheres de chá de açafrão-das-índias
• 1 colher de sopa de garam masala
• sal
• 2 colheres de sopa de óleo de girassol
• 2 cebolas, cortadas em rodelas finas
• 3 dentes de alho, cortados em rodelas
• 500ml de caldo de galinha
• algumas azeitonas verdes
• 50g de alperces secos, picados grosseiramente
• 1 limão, raspa e sumo
• 250g de cuscuz
• 1 punhado de salsa, picada grosseiramente

• Coloquem o frango num recipiente e deitem-lhe metade do açafrão-das-índias e do garam masala. Temperem com um pouco de sal e misturem bem com as mãos, até as coxas estarem cobertas com a mistura de especiarias.


• Aqueçam uma colher de sopa de óleo numa sertã e deixem ficar bem quente. Coloquem as coxas de frango, com a pele para baixo e sem sobrepor, e deixem fritar durante cerca de 10 minutos. Nessa altura virem e fritem do outro lado por mais 2 minutos. Retirem e reservem.


• Deitem a segunda colher de óleo na sertã. Juntem as cebolas e o alho e cozinhem por 8 minutos, mexendo de vez em quando, até dourarem. Juntem então as restantes especiarias e misturem bem, cozinhando por mais um minuto. Deitem nessa altura o caldo de galinha, as azeitonas e os alperces. Deixem levantar fervura, juntem as coxas de frango com a pele para cima, reduzam o lume e tapem a sertã com a tampa, deixando cozinhar lentamente durante 35 a 40 minutos.


• Passado esse tempo, desliguem o lume. Retirem as coxas de frango e reservem. Juntem o sumo de limão e os cuscuz à sertã. Se necessário, juntem água a ferver até os cuscuz ficarem cobertos. Voltem a colocar a tampa e esperem cinco minutos, para que os cuscuz absorvam o líquido e ganhem sabor.


• Finalmente, abram a panela, deitem metade da raspa de limão e da salsa e misturem nos cuscuz usando um garfo (para que fique bem solto). Coloquem as coxas sobre os cuscuz, polvilhem com a restante raspa e salsa e sirvam imediatamente.

---

---

(mudar para português)

I cooked this recipe on a Sunday. It was snowing in London - it started early in the morning and kept going through most of the day. It was a good day to stay indoors, with the heating on, keeping the cold outside. But first, I had to think about lunch.

The snow stopped for a few minutes, so I went quickly to our local grocery store. I had found this recipe on BBC’s Good Food website, and it looked like a good idea: the flavours of the chicken, the spices, the couscous, the lemon and the olives were a promise of warmth. All I needed was half a dozen ingredients and an hour in the kitchen. I bought what I needed and managed to get home before the snow was back.

The aroma filled the house in an instant and the promise was kept: the chicken was wonderful, the couscous more so. We had lunch in warm yellow hues, while outside the street and the city got slowly covered in white. Good days.

---

Chicken with couscous

Ingredients ( 4 people )

• 8 chicken thighs
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• salt
• 2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, sliced
• 500ml chicken stock
• a few green olives
• 50g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 lemon, zest and juice
• 250g couscous
• 1 bunch of parsley, roughly chopped

• Place the chicken in a bowl and add half the turmeric and half the garam masala. Season with some salt and mix well, using your hands, until the thighs are well coated with the spice mixture.


• Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large sauté pan. As soon as it’s hot, add the thighs, skin-side down and without overlapping. Fry for about 10 minutes. As soon as they are golden brown, turn them over and fry for 2 minutes more. Remove and reserve.


• Add the second tablespoon of oil to the pan. Add the onions and the garlic and cook for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are golden. Add the remaining turmeric and garam masala and mix well, cooking for a minute more. Add the chicken stock, the olives and the apricots . Bring to the boil, then add the thighs, skin-side up. Turn down the heat to low and cover the pan with a lid, leaving to cook gently for 35 to 40 minutes.


• Turn the heat off. Remove the thighs from the pan and reserve them. Add the lemon juice and the couscous to the pan. If necessary, add boiling water to cover the couscous. Put the lid back on and wait five minutes, so that the couscous absorb all the liquid and its flavour.


• Finally, open the pan, add half the lemon zest and half the parsley and mix well using a fork, so that the couscous fluff up. Place the chicken thighs over the couscous, top with the remaining lemon zest and parsley and serve immediately.