Harissa paste is widely used in North African and Middle-Eastern recipes and often accompanies couscous. It can be mighty hot to the uninitiated and should be tried and tasted before liberally applying. The Riverford kitchen has never shrunk from making harissa as hot as its inspirational original, so do be careful.

Here the paste is applied to the chicken before grilling and the couscous and yoghurt dressing it is served with are both as ‘cooling’ as the chicken is ‘hot’.

Ingredients - serves 2

2 chicken breasts or boned thighs, skin removed
2 tsp Riverford harissa paste
250g couscous (precooked variety)
250ml boiling water
grated zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 tbsp freshly chopped coriander
2 tomatoes, seeded & diced
1 tbsp olive oil
a small pot of Greek yoghurt
1 clove garlic, crushed & finey chopped
1 tbsp freshly chopped mint
1/2 small cucumber, cut into 1cm dice
salt, pepper

Method

1 Mix a couple of teaspoons of the lemon juice with the harissa paste and rub over the surface of the chicken on one side only. Grill for 10 minutes each side under a hot grill, or until cooked through, keep warm.

2 Empty the carton of yogurt into a bowl, fold in cucumber dice, garlic and chopped mint and some seasoning to taste and set aside in a cool place.

3 Place the couscous in a bowl, pour over the boiling water, cover and leave to stand for 5 minutes. Remove cover, fluff gently with a fork and fold in the chopped coriander, diced tomato, olive oil and the remaining lemon juice and finely grated lemon zest. Season lightly to taste and serve with a golden, grilled chicken breast and a generous dollop of cooling yoghurt dressing.