Fragrant Palestinian Maftoul

Serves four, generously

Chicken

6 chicken thighs

2 tbsp olive oil

1½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

¾ tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp dill seeds, slightly crushed

Salt and black pepper

Maftoul

3 tbls olive oil

2 medium onions, cut into 8 wedges

1 tbsp tomato paste

½ tsp caster sugar

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into thick slices 

½ a butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into medium chunks 

1 tin of chickpeas, drained 

8 large cloves of garlic, sliced in half lengthways

750ml chicken stock

250g Maftoul, rinsed and drained

1 lemon, squeezed

Parsley, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 200C F.

Place the chicken in a lined baking tray, and add the olive oil, 1 teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Add the cumin, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric and fennel seeds to a small bowl and mix to combine. Sprinkle just a quarter of this over all of the chicken and then roast up to 40 minutes, or until nicely browned and cooked through.

Add the oil for the maftoul to a large pot and place on a medium high heat. Add the onion and 2½ teaspoon of salt and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring from time to time. Add the tomato paste and sugar and cook for another minute. Add the carrot and squash, chickpeas, the remaining spice mix, and cook for 3 minutes more. Now you can add the garlic and stock. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are just cooked. Making sure you reserve the stock, strain the vegetables. Return the broth to the same pot, add the maftoul and bring to the boil. Cover and cook on a low heat for 10 minutes, turn off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes, with the pot still covered. Add the vegetables to the pot, along with the lemon juice and some of the parsley.

Spoon the maftoul into serving dish, top with the chicken, sprinkle over the remaining parsley and lemon wedges.