Chicken Cacciatore with Couscous

This hearty winter warmer is so simple to make. The red wine, bacon and olives give this dish a rich, full bodied flavour. Perfect for an after work meal for the family or a show stopping one pot wonder for a cosy winter dinner party.

Serves: 4

Ingredients

8 Free range chicken thighs

500ml red wine (we love Giesen Merlot)

Olive oil (we love Olivado)

1/4 cup plain flour

100g streaky bacon, thinly sliced (we love Hellers)

1 stick celery, diced

1 onion, diced

1 medium carrot, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp dried oregano (we love Superb Herb)

1 cup chicken stock (we love Campbell’s)

100g pitted mixed olives (we love Food Snob)

1/4 cup fresh Italian parsley, roughly chopped (we love Superb Herb)

Diamond Moroccan Couscous

5 teaspoons oil

1 cup of water

Method

  1. In a large bowl, marinade the chicken thighs in red wine. After 30 minutes to one hour, remove the chicken, pat each piece dry with a paper towel and set aside the wine for the sauce later. Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper and lightly dust with the flour.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a large casserole or saucepan over a medium heat and brown the chicken pieces in the pan until golden. Once the thighs are evenly coloured, remove from the pan, cover and set aside.
  3. Place the pan back on the heat. Add the bacon, diced vegetables and garlic. Sauté for 3-5 minutes until the onion is softened. Place the browned chicken, oregano and reserved red wine all back in the pan. Pour over the stock until the chicken is just covered.
  4. Bring to the boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chicken is tender. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. To serve, garnish the chicken cacciatore with olives, parsley and an extra drizzle of olive oil then serve alongside couscous.
  5. Couscous: Combine couscous and flavour sachet in a bowl. Add 1 ¼ cups of boiling water. Stir well. Cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Fluff the couscous with a fork.