Description

A flavorful and comforting one-pot meal featuring crispy skin-on chicken thighs cooked atop tender giant couscous flavored with garlicky cavolo nero and a fresh lemon-parsley dressing. This hearty dish combines easy stovetop searing with oven baking for perfectly cooked chicken and fluffy couscous all in one pan.

Ingredients

Scale

Chicken

4 large skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs

Vegetables & Herbs

1 onion, thinly sliced
200g cavolo nero, stalks finely chopped, leaves roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, grated
small bunch of parsley, finely chopped
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Grains & Oil

250g giant couscous
1 tbsp olive oil

Instructions

Season and sear the chicken: Season the chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Place them skin-side down in a large, wide ovenproof frying pan (about 30cm in diameter) over medium-low heat. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the skin turns golden brown and crispy.
Preheat the oven and set chicken aside: Transfer the seared chicken thighs to a plate. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan) or gas mark 6.
Cook the vegetables: In the same pan, add the sliced onion and finely chopped cavolo nero stalks. Season lightly with salt and pepper and cook for 8-10 minutes until they begin to soften.
Add garlic and cavolo nero leaves: Stir in the grated garlic and roughly chopped cavolo nero leaves. Continue cooking for another 3-4 minutes until fragrant and wilted.
Add the giant couscous and water: Stir in the giant couscous to coat it well with the vegetables. Pour in 675ml cold water, stirring to combine. Season to taste and bring the mixture to a boil on the stovetop.
Simmer and bake with chicken: Reduce the heat to a simmer, nestle the chicken thighs back into the pan skin-side up. Transfer the pan to the preheated oven and bake for 18-20 minutes, allowing the chicken to finish cooking and the couscous to absorb the liquid.
Make the dressing: While the chicken cooks, combine the finely chopped parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and olive oil in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve: Remove the pan from the oven and let the chicken rest for 5 minutes. Drizzle the lemon-parsley dressing over the chicken and couscous. Serve warm, spooning couscous and vegetables onto plates alongside the juicy chicken thighs.

Notes

Using skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs ensures a juicy and flavorful result with crispy skin.
Giant couscous is larger than regular couscous and holds up well in this one-pot bake without becoming mushy.
If you don’t have cavolo nero, you can substitute with kale or another hearty green.
Make sure your frying pan is ovenproof to safely transfer from stovetop to oven.
To check chicken doneness, an internal temperature of 75°C (165°F) is ideal.
Leftovers can be refrigerated and reheated gently on the stovetop or in the oven.

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Category: Main Course
Method: Baking
Cuisine: Mediterranean

Keywords: one-pot, chicken thighs, garlicky, giant couscous, cavolo nero, lemon parsley, easy dinner, oven bake