Thiéré (Senegalese Couscous) with Chicken and Vegetable Sauce

Ingredients

• 1000 g chicken drumsticks
• 300 g couscous
• 2 onions
• 2 carrots
• 400 g sweet potatoes
• 1 courgette
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 3 garlic cloves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 chicken stock cube
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1. 1

   Season the drumsticks with salt and pepper. Heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole over a medium-high heat and brown them for 8 minutes, turning. Add the sliced onions and cook for 5 minutes.

2. 2

   Stir in the crushed garlic and tomato purée for 2 minutes, then add 800ml water, the crumbled stock cube and the bay leaves. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Add the carrots and sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks, and simmer for 10 minutes, then add the courgette, cut into thick rounds, and cook for 8 minutes more until all the vegetables are tender and no pink remains near the chicken bone. Season with salt.

4. 4

   Thiéré is steamed millet couscous; wheat couscous is the supermarket swap. Put the couscous in a bowl with a pinch of salt, pour over 375ml of the hot broth from the pan, cover and leave for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.

5. 5

   Pile the couscous in wide bowls and ladle the chicken, vegetables and remaining sauce over the top.