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Moroccan Lemon Chicken with Spiced Couscous
Serves: 2
Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Level: Intermediate
🐔 For the Chicken:
2 parted chicken legs (drumstick & thigh)
Salt, to taste
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 preserved lemon (pulp removed, peel thinly sliced)
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp paprika
¼ tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp sugar
2 knobs butter
1 cup chicken stock (or enough to cover halfway)
⅓ cup pitted green olives
Neutral oil for searing
🍲 For the Spiced Couscous:
1 tbsp butter
½ small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
½ tsp ground cumin
½ tsp ground ginger
⅛ tsp ground cinnamon
2–3 dried apricots, chopped
1 cup couscous
½ cup canned chickpeas
1½ cups chicken stock
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
🔪 Instructions
1. Prep the Chicken
Season the chicken legs generously with salt. Let sit for 30 minutes.
In a hot, oiled pan, sear chicken on both sides until lightly golden. Set aside.
2. Build the Braise
In a wide sauté pan, add oil and sweat the sliced onions with a pinch of salt until translucent.
Add chopped garlic, cook briefly, then add all the spices and sugar.
Stir in butter, then return chicken to the pan and coat in the aromatic mix.
Pour in chicken stock until it reaches halfway up the chicken.
Add preserved lemon peel and green olives. Bring to a gentle simmer.
3. Braise
Cover and simmer on low for 45 minutes, flipping the chicken halfway.
Uncover and continue to simmer until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a spoon.
Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
4. Spiced Couscous
In a brazier or sauté pan, melt butter and sauté onion and garlic until soft.
Season with salt, pepper, cumin, ginger, and cinnamon.
Stir in chopped apricot, couscous, and chickpeas.
Pour in chicken stock and season with salt.
Cover with a lid, reduce to low, and let steam for 10 minutes.
Fluff with a fork and finish with chopped parsley.
🍽️ To Serve
Plate a bed of couscous, top with braised chicken, olives, and sauce. Garnish with parsley and serve warm.
Never had Moroccan chicken? Let me show you how it’s done. Starting with an onion, we’ll slice it thinly like so. And if you want to level up your knife skills, the Better Cook Academy has an entire master class on the techniques used in Michelin Star kitchens. Plus, how to sharpen and maintain your blades like a pro. Because a sharp knife is just as essential as knowing how to use it. Head to bettercook.co/join to start your free trial. Next, we’ll slice three cloves of garlic. Then begin to give them a rough chop. Lastly, here’s our preserved lemon. You can find these at any Middle Eastern ger or make them yourself if you have a source for meer lemons. I’ll slice into quarters, then remove the pulp so we’re just left with the peel. Slice the peel very thinly so it can infuse into the sauce more efficiently. Next is our spices. So we’ll need half a teaspoon of cumin, half a teaspoon of paprika, 1/4 of a teaspoon of turmeric, 1/8 of a teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teassp of ginger powder, and half a teaspoon of sugar. For the chicken, season two parted chicken legs with salt and let it sit for 30 minutes. I’ll place this into an oiled hot pan and sear lightly on both sides. Quick tip, if you start with a ripping hot pan when placing your chicken in, they won’t stick. Next, for our brace, we’ll add our sliced onions into a welloiled sauté pan and sweat it down before seasoning with some salt. Continue to cook this down until translucent. I’ll add the chopped garlic. Season with salt and continue to sauté. We’ll add our spices along with a couple knobs of butter. Add the chicken and mix it well until coated with the spices. Add about 1 cup of chicken stock or enough to cover the chicken halfway. Add the sliced preserved lemon and toss in some pitted green olives. Mix this really well and simmer for 45 minutes, turning your chicken halfway through. Continue to cook the brazing liquid down until it’s thick and coats the back of your spoon. For our spiced couscous, I’ll add some chopped onions into a brazer, some chopped garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add some cumin, ginger, and cinnamon. I’ll toss in some butter and mix this together. Next, throw in some chopped dried apricots along with one cup of couscous. Mix. Then add half a cup of canned chickpeas. Cover with chicken stock. Season with salt and let this come to a simmer before covering with a lid. After 10 minutes, here’s our aromatic couscous. I’ll add some chopped parsley and mix this in. Place a bed of your couscous onto a plate. Top with the chicken, olives, and sauce. And there’s our beautiful Moroccan lemon chicken. I’ll garnish with some parsley. And this was super tender as well as delicious. Enjoy.