The Moroccan sauce known as charmoula, a savory blend of tomato puree, olive oil, lemon and spices, is used for preparing tagines as well as for braising poultry and other meats. Our sauce was created by Moroccan-born chef Mourad Lahlou, owner of San Francisco’s award-winning Aziza restaurant.
Prep Time
5 minutes
Cook Time
130 minutes
Servings
8
Ingredients
1 Tbs. canola oil
4 whole chicken legs
Kosher salt, to taste
1 jar (21 oz.) Mourad’s spiced tomato and herb braising sauce
1 can (14 oz.) chickpeas, drained
Steamed couscous for serving
Directions
In a Dutch oven over medium-high heat, warm the oil. Season the chicken legs with salt. Working in batches, brown the chicken on both sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
Add the braising sauce to the pot and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken to the pot, reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is fork-tender, about 2 hours. During the last 15 minutes of cooking, add the chickpeas. Skim the excess fat off the sauce. Serve the chicken and sauce with steamed couscous. Serves 6 to 8.
Williams-Sonoma Kitchen
Rated 5 out of
5 by
AB M from
Super Tasty!I love this recipe. I looked up the ingredients in the W-S Braising Sauce and made my own version of it, as follows:
1 can crushed tomatoes (preferably fire roasted),
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (or dried coriander),
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley,
3 cloves garlic, chopped,
2 T olive oil,
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes or to taste,
1 T ground cumin,
2 tsp sweet paprika,
Pinch cinnamon,
3 T lemon juice,
1 tsp grated lemon zest,
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste,
Also added some Olives, and sliced Carrots
Date published: 2021-07-14
Rated 1 out of
5 by
Clamclaw from
Not Possible to MakeThe recipe can't be made since Mourad’s spiced tomato and herb braising sauce can no longer be purchased on Williams Sonoma or anywhere else
Date published: 2021-03-19
Rated 5 out of
5 by
imacpw from
Will not disappoint!This braising sauce is awesome and this recipe couldn't be much easier.
The chicken really does need to be well browned and I've taken to putting the dutch oven on the grill for the browning step as the chicken makes a mess of the stove with splattering grease even with a screen over the pot. Then I bring it inside and follow the recipe exactly.
My only gripe is that I don't see any way to feed 8 people with 4 chicken legs so I double the chicken even for 4-6 people. Couscous is a perfect compliment and don't be afraid of the parsley.
