Chicken and eggplant tagine

Ingredients

6 chicken thigh fillets

1 long red chilli, roughly chopped

1 bunch of corriander, roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon of dried mint

1 teaspoon of ground cumin

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/4 cup olive oil

4 long thin eggplant, halved lengthways

4 shallots (green onions), cut into 4cm lengths

400g can of chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup green olives

200 grams green beans, cut into 4 cm lengths

1 1/2 cup cous cous

1 1/2 cups boiling water

Method

Chicken:
1. Place chilli, corriander, mint, cumin, lemon juice and half of the oilve oil in a food processor and blend until smooth
2. Pour marinade over the chicken in a bowl and refrigerate for at least 2 hours
3. Heat the remaining oil in a heavy-based sauce pan. Cook the eggplant for 2 minutes on each side. Remove from pan and set aside
4. Add the chicken in the same pan in small batched and cook until brown for 2-3 minutes on each side. Remove from pan
5. Add the shallots and green beans to the same pan, cook for 2 minutes.
6. Return the chicken and eggplant to the pan with the tomato, olives, 1/2 cup water and any marinade juice left over.
7. Stir until combined. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through. Season to taste.
Cous cous
8. Place the cous cous in a heat proof bowl, pour over the boiling water. Cover with a lid and let stand for 5 minutes. Using a fork fluff the cous cous.
9. Serve the chicken and eggplant on a bed of cous cous

Alternatives
Add some chopped dates to the cous cous for a different flavour