Braised Rooster with Apricots, Inexperienced Olives and Herbed Couscous

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At his Miami restaurant, Michael’s Favorable Food & Drink, chef Michael Schwartz eschews the jam’s “Floribbean” cuisine for a form of from-scratch cooking all his non-public. Now in his first cookbook, he’s offering his sought-after recipes to followers in each attach. Schwartz treats components simply to earn flavorful, unpretentious dishes love these Middle Eastern-impressed braised chicken thighs. The chef adorns the at ease poultry with sweet apricots, briny olives and a cilantro-laced couscous to win the staunch flavors of his restaurant at home.

Recipe tailored from Michael’s Favorable Food: Down-to-Earth Cooking for Individuals Who Treasure to Exhaust (Clarkson Potter)

• ¼ cup canola oil
• ½ cup all-motive flour
• 4 kilos bone-in, pores and skin-on chicken thighs (about 12)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 carrots, peeled and decrease into ½-accelerate gadgets
• 1 medium white onion, roughly chopped
• 3 celery stalks, roughly chopped
• 1½ cups pitted green olives
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups chicken stock, ideally home made
• 1 cup fresh orange juice
• 1 cup couscous
• 6 scallions, white and light-weight-green components easiest, thinly sliced
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint leaves
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1. Preheat the oven to 375° and prepare a rack in the center.
2. In a Dutch oven or trim ovenproof pot, warmth the oil over high warmth. Spread the flour on a trim, shallow plate. Season the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Dredge the chicken flippantly in the flour, tapping off the excess. Working in batches, sear the chicken till browned all over, about 4 minutes per facet. Switch to a platter and repeat with the closing chicken.
3. Add the carrots, onion and celery to the drippings in the pot. Cook dinner, stirring frequently, till the greens are softened and moderately browned, about 5 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons of salt, 1 of teaspoon pepper and the olives, apricots, cinnamon and stock. Add the chicken and prepare so the thighs are lined with liquid. Pour any drippings on the platter into the pot. Bring to a boil, then conceal and bake for 1 hour or till the chicken is fork at ease.
4. In a limited saucepan, raise the orange juice, ½ cup of water and 1 tablespoon of salt to a boil. Exhaust some distance from the warmth, accelerate in the couscous and conceal. Let stand till the couscous is soft, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix the scallions with the cilantro and mint.
5. Exhaust away the chicken from the oven and accelerate in the butter till melted. Switch the couscous to a serving bowl and fluff with a fork. Fold in half of the scallion mixture. Sprinkle the closing scallion mixture over the braised chicken and reduction straight away.