Moroccan Chicken With Chickpeas And Apricots Food

EASY CROCK POT MOROCCAN CHICKEN, CHICKPEA AND APRICOT TAGINE

Steps:

• PLEASE NOTE: This recipe lists canned chickpeas in the ingredients, NOT dried! If you use dried chickpeas, you MUST soak them and cook them first!
• Heat up olive oil in a frying pan/skillet & saute chopped onions & garlic for 5-10 minutes.
• Add chicken stock & gradually mix in flour or cornflour until well mixed & not lumpy.Add honey & tomato paste & mix well.
• Add herbs,spices & finely chopped ginger with salt & pepper to taste.
• Finally add tinned tomatoes & mix well.
• Pour the above tomato,onion & spice mix into slow cooker or tagine.
• Add chicken & chickpeas & mix well.
• Add dried apricots making sure they are covered by juice. (Add the carrots if using.).
• Give it a gentle but good stir to mix everything together well.
• Crock Pot or Slow Cooker - Cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours OR automatic with keep warm facility for up to 8 hours. (Please note that the cooking times depend on your crockpot, the cooking times I have suggested work fine with mine which is a Morphy Richards Slow Cooker.).
• If cooking in a Traditional Tagine, do as above & cook SLOWLY over gas or barbeque for about 2-3 hours.
• Electric Tagine cooking - same as the slowcooker. If you need to thicken it up towards the end of the cooking time, add cornflour which has been mixed with a little water & add to the tagine - mix well.
• Serve with freshly chopped Coriander/Cilantro sprinked on top & either with couscous, rice, fresh flat bread, pitta bread or salads. It is also good (if not traditional) served with fluffy pureed or mashed potatoes & pasta.
• Note: You can use chicken pieces or whole chicken which has been cut up into portions, but you will then need to brown them in a frying pan or skillet beforehand. Preserved lemons make a great addition, add them when you add the apricots and carrots.

CHICKEN AND CHICKPEA TAGINE WITH APRICOTS AND HARISSA SAUCE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Heat canola oil in a large Dutch oven or a tagine over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper on both sides and place in the hot pan, skin side down, in batches if needed; cook until golden brown. Turn the thighs over and cook for 2 minutes longer. Remove chicken to a plate.
• Remove all but 2 tablespoons of the oil from the pan then add the olive oil and heat over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until soft. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the ras al-hanut and cook another 30 seconds. Add the saffron with the soaking liquid, cinnamon stick, tomatoes, chickpeas, and apricots and bring to a simmer. Nestle the chicken into the mixture and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook on the stovetop or in the oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until the chicken is tender. Do not remove the lid to check on the chicken until this time. Garnish each serving with a dollop of Harissa Sauce, parsley and cilantro.
• Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before serving.

MOROCCAN APRICOT CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add almonds; cook and stir until lightly browned, 2-3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon; drain on paper towels. In the same skillet, brown chicken on both sides. Remove from heat. Transfer chicken to a 4- or 5-qt. slow cooker. Stir chili sauce, preserves, apricots, Moroccan seasoning, vanilla and garlic powder into drippings. Pour over chicken., Cook, covered, on low until a thermometer inserted in chicken reads 170°-175°, 4 to 4-1/2 hours. Stir in garbanzo beans and orange juice. Cook, covered, on low until heated through, 15-30 minutes longer. Serve with almonds. If desired, sprinkle with parsley.

CHICKPEA TAGINE WITH CHICKEN AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Put oil in a large, deep pot over medium-high heat. When oil is shimmering, add chicken and brown well on both sides; remove from pan and set aside. Reduce heat to medium, add onion to the pan and cook until soft, about 5 minutes; add garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, cinnamon, dried apricots and tomato. Cook and stir just long enough to loosen any brown bits from bottom of pan.
• Add chickpeas and 1 cup of stock or bean liquid to the pan and turn heat back to medium-high. When mixture reaches a gentle bubble, return chicken to the pan. Cover pot, turn heat to low and cook, checking occasionally to make sure the mixture is bubbling gently, for about 15 minutes or until tomatoes break down and flavors begin to meld. Stir in bulgur, adding more stock if necessary so that the mixture is covered with about an inch of liquid. Season with salt and pepper.
• Cover and cook until the chicken and bulgur are both done, about 10 to 15 minutes. Taste, adjust the seasonings and serve in bowls garnished with parsley.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEAS AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Combine spices in small bowl and set aside.
• Mince 1 strip lemon zest; combine with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and mince together until reduced to fine paste; set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper.
• Heat oil in large heavy--bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke.
• Brown chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more.
• Transfer chicken to large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and discard.
• Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.
• Add onion and 2 remaining lemon zest strips to pot and cook, stirring 5 to 7 minutes
• Add remaining 4 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring,about 30 seconds.
• Add spices and cook, stirring constantly,45 seconds to 1 minute.
• Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits.
• Add thighs and drumsticks, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add carrots, apricots, and breast pieces to pot, arranging breast pieces in single layer on top of carrots.
• Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer 10 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer chicken to plate or bowl and tent with foil.
• Add chickpeas to pot; increase heat to medium-high and simmer 4 to 6 minutes.
• Return chicken to pot and add garlic-zest mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.
• Serve immediately.

SLOW-COOKER MOROCCAN-SPICED CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side, reducing the heat if the pan begins to scorch. Transfer the chicken to a plate, leaving the fat in the pan. When cool enough to handle, remove the browned skin from the thighs and discard. Transfer the chicken to the slow cooker. Return the pan with the fat to medium-high heat and repeat with the remaining half of the chicken.
• Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan. (Add additional oil to equal 1 tablespoon if needed.) Add the onions, paprika, cardamom, and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook until the onions are softened, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 2 1/2 cups of the broth, the apricots, and cinnamon stick, scraping up any browned bits, and bring to a simmer. Pour into the slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on low for 3 hours. Quickly stir in the chickpeas, replace the cover, and continue to cook until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour longer.
• Transfer the chicken to a large serving dish and tent loosely with foil. Discard the cinnamon stick. Set the slow cooker to high. Whisk the remaining 1/2 cup broth and flour together until smooth, then stir into the slow cooker. Cover and continue to cook until the sauce is thickened and no longer tastes of flour, 15 to 30 minutes longer.
• Stir in the cilantro and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon the vegetables and some of the sauce over the chicken and serve with lemon wedges, passing the remaining sauce separately.

MOROCCAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Spatchcock the chickens - see tip, below, or ask your butcher to do it for you. Put the olive oil, coriander, sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, garlic, lemon zest and juice, pomegranate molasses and some ground black pepper into a food processor or blender, and whizz to a paste. Divide between 2 large food bags, add a chicken to each, then squeeze out the air and seal before giving everything a good squelch to coat thoroughly. Marinate for 24-48 hrs in the fridge, turning and squishing every so often.
• Fire up a barbecue and let the flames die down, or heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lift the chicken out of the bags and season well with salt. Barbecue or roast the chicken for 25-30 mins on each side until crisp and cooked through. Set aside on a platter, loosely cover with foil, to rest while you do the apricots. If you roasted rather than barbecued, keep the tin juices warm for serving.
• Put the apricots in a small, snug roasting tin. Whisk the preserved lemon, honey, orange blossom and vinegar with some seasoning. Pour over the apricots and roast, or sit on the barbecue, for 20 mins until soft.
• Serve the chicken with any cooking juices, the apricots and saffron yogurt.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Chop the chicken into bite size pieces and salt and pepper.
• In a heavy skillet heat oil and saute chicken in oil until brown and cooked through.
• Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm while you make the sauce.
• Add onions and garlic to the skillet and saute.
• Add flour, cinnamon, cumin, and ginger to skillet and mix well.
• Whisk in chicken broth.
• Stir in apricots, lemon juice and honey.
• Boil sauce for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon; while the sauce is boiling occasionally stir to prevent burning it.
• Coat the chicken with the sauce by either mixing the chicken back into the skillet or mixing both chicken and sauce into a serving dish.
• Sprinkle with toasted almonds.