I love doing a whole 'roast' chook in my varoma. This one is beautiful using my moroccan spice and the stuffing of pine nuts, dates and couscous is sensational. Steaming the chook makes the final result just so moist.
Many people on the current ThermoFun Cook Along are loving this recipe, in fact a few have even said that it may even be more of a favourite than Herbie the Chook and that says a lot!
This recipe I adapted from taste.com and converted for the Thermomix.
Moroccan Style Roast Chicken Recipe
Ingredients
- 90g couscous
- 185g boiling water from kettle
- 20g TM vegetable stock concentrate
- 2 tablespoon olive oil + 10g extra
- 40g pistachio nuts
- 120g dried pitted dates
- 1 onion, peeled and halved
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 4 teaspoon ThermoFun Moroccan Spice divided
- 1 chook (up to 2kg)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 1700g boiling water from kettle
- 1 tablespoon honey
- ¼ teaspoon cinnamon ground
- vegetables of your choice peeled and chopped
Instructions
- In a separate bowl on top of TM lid, weigh couscous, 185g hot water and stock. Stir to combine. Stir in 1 tablespoon olive oil. Set aside for a few minutes.
- Place nuts into TM bowl and chop 5 sec / speed 5. Set aside.
- Place pitted dates into TM bowl and chop 8 sec / speed 6. Set aside with the nuts.
- Place onion, garlic and 10g olive oil into TM bowl and chop 3 sec / speed 5. Scrape down and sauté 5 mins / Varoma / speed 2 / Reverse / MC off.
- Add 2 teaspoon ThermoFun Moroccan Spice, dates and nuts and cook 2 mins / Varoma / speed 2 / Reverse.
- Add onion and date mix to couscous and stir to combine with a spoon.
- Rinse the chicken cavity and pat dry.
- Spoon couscous mix and cinnamon stick into chicken cavity. Tie legs together with kitchen string.
- In a small bowl, make marinade by combining honey, cinnamon, 2 teaspoon Moroccan Spice and 1 tablespoon olive oil.
- Pat and massage the marinade into the skin of chicken. (NB: I do wear disposable gloves here to save my fingers getting stained with the spices!).
- Place chicken breast side up in Varoma deep dish.
- Pour 1700g boiling water into TM bowl and place assembled Varoma on top of TM lid and cook 50 mins / Varoma / speed 2.
- After 50 mins of cooking, (depending on size of chook), add hard vegetables eg: potatoes, pumpkin and carrots around the sides of the chook in the Varoma and cook 20 mins / Varoma / speed 2.
- OR remove chook from Varoma and place into a baking dish and continue cooking in oven for approx. 10 mins. This will give you plenty of room to cook a large amount of vegetables in the Varoma if required.
- Remove Varoma from TM lid and set aside.
- Place soft vegetables in simmering basket and lower the basket into TM bowl. Place assembled Varoma with chicken and/or veg back on TM lid and cook 8 mins / Varoma / speed 2.
Disclaimer: If you are using your TM5 and you get an error code C160 or C161 – please contact your consultant or Thermomix Australia in regards to your machine as it may have a known problem.
Click Here for my Moroccan Pasta recipe.
Click Here for more great recipes in a number of e-cookbooks – containing recipes to suit everyone.
If you have enjoyed this recipe then please consider leaving a comment. It’s always refreshing to see comments from people that have tried a recipe and found it a success or tweaked it to suit.
Jana says
Did this tonight for the first time and it was delicious! Stuffing was a hit! Thanks so much for sharing.
thermofun says
Thank you Jana great to hear! :)
Raelene says
We love this and make it regularly now almost as much as Herbie. We double the stuffing mixture and roll it into balls and serve as a side dish... and I may just leave a little bit aside to re-test along the way to make sure it doesn't go off.. hehe ;-) Thank you again Mrs ThermoFun for another tried and true recipe... saves us a lot of time and money knowing you thoroughly test your recipes before publishing them. Keep up the good work :-)
thermofun says
Thanks Raelene. Great idea re doubling the stuffing mixture too. :)