Chicken Charmoula with Chickpeas

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.

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.