We love the way honey caramelises in a pan, lending a crispy, sticky finish to chicken. We’ve used chicken thigh here because it packs a fantastic flavour, remains moist as it cooks and complements the bed of delicious roast veggie couscous that comes with it.

Ingredients

1 drizzle	Olive oil
1	Red onion
2	Parsnips
400 g	Diced pumpkin
2 tsp	Plain flour
3 Tbsp	Chermoula spice
½ tsp	Salt
640 g	Chicken thighs
4 tsp	Honey
4 cloves	Garlic
40 g	Butter
1 ½ cups	Water
22 g	Currants
10 g	Chicken stock powder
½ cup	Couscous
60 g	Baby spinach leaves
1	Lemon
5 g	Fresh mint
175 g	Greek yoghurt

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 220°C/200°C fan-forced. Slice the red onion into 2cm wedges. Cut the parsnip (unpeeled) into 1cm chunks. Place the onion, parsnip and peeled & chopped pumpkin on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer and roast until tender, 20-25 minutes. Remove the tray from the oven and allow to cool slightly. TIP: Cut the veggies to size so they cook in time.
2. While the veggies are roasting, combine the plain flour, chermoula spice blend and the salt in a large bowl. Add the chicken thigh and toss to coat. In a large frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Add the chicken thigh and cook, turning occasionally, until browned and cooked through, 10-14 minutes. In the last 2 minutes of cook time, add the honey to the chicken and turn to coat.
3. While the chicken is cooking, finely chop the garlic. In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over a medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute. Add the water, currants (see ingredients) and the chicken-style stock powder and bring to the boil. Add the couscous and a drizzle of olive oil. Stir to combine, cover with a lid and remove from the heat. Set aside until all the water is absorbed, 5 minutes. Fluff up with a fork.
4. While the couscous is cooking, roughly chop the baby spinach leaves. Zest the lemon to get a pinch, then slice into wedges. Pick and roughly chop the mint leaves. In a small bowl, combine the yoghurt and a squeeze of lemon juice. Season to taste and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, combine the garlic couscous, roasted veggies, baby spinach, lemon zest and mint (reserve some for garnish). Season to taste.
6. Slice the chicken. Divide the roasted veggie couscous between bowls and top with the Moroccan honey chicken. Drizzle over the lemon yoghurt and garnish with the reserved mint.