Ras el hanout chicken with squash, olives & tahini

1 Preheat the oven to 200oC, gas mark 6. Arrange the squash and onions in the base of a large roasting tin, toss with ½ tbsp oil and season. In a small bowl, mix the remaining ½ tbsp oil with the ginger, garlic, lemon zest, ras el hanout and a good pinch of salt and black pepper. Rub all over the chicken, getting under the skin of the breast if possible. Put the chicken in the roasting tin on top of the vegetables, squeeze ½ the zested lemon over the chicken and put the shell in the cavity. Roast for 45 minutes.

2 Remove the tin from the oven, lift up the chicken and allow any juices from the cavity to pour back into the tin, then sit the chicken on a plate. Add 150ml stock and the olives to the tin and stir with the onions and squash. Sit the chicken back on top and roast for another 20-25 minutes, until completely cooked through, the juices run clear and there is no pink meat. Remove the chicken from the tin and allow to rest for about 20 minutes before carving, returning the veg to the oven for a fnal 10-15 minutes, until caramelised.

3 While the chicken is resting, put the couscous in a bowl. Bring the remaining 350ml stock to the boil in a saucepan and pour over the couscous. Cover the bowl with a plate and set aside.

4 For the tahini sauce, put the remaining juice of ½ lemon, the tahini, honey, ½ of the parsley and ½ of the mint in a small blender with 4-5 tbsp water and a pinch of salt. Whizz, adding more water as needed to make a sauce the consistency of pouring cream. Roughly chop the remaining herbs.

5 Fluff the couscous with a fork and toss through the chopped herbs. Carve the chicken and serve with the couscous, vegetables and cooking juices, plus the green tahini sauce.