Moroccan Chicken With Squash And Dried Plums Food

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND SQUASH

Steps:

• Combine the squash, turnip, leek and raisins in a 6-quart slow cooker. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of the vegetables.
• Whisk the chicken broth, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, turmeric, lemon zest and juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on high, 4 hours.
• Serve the chicken and vegetables with couscous; drizzle with some of the cooking liquid. Top with cilantro.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH APRICOT COUSCOUS AND GREEN OLIVE SAUCE IN FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• To prepare the Moroccan Spice Mix for the Chicken: Combine the cinnamon stick, cloves, cayenne, cumin, fennel, coriander, and paprika in a dry skillet over low heat and toast for just a minute to release the fragrant oils; shake the pan so they don't scorch. In a spice mill or clean coffee grinder, grind the toasted spices together, with 1 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt and the brown sugar. (A word of advice: make sure you thoroughly wipe out your coffee grinder before you make coffee again - Moroccan spices taste great on chicken but horrible with coffee.)
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Rinse the chicken with cool water, inside and out, then pat it dry with paper towels. Massage the chicken skin with the spice rub; make sure you don't miss a spot. Season the inside of the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the lemons halves, cilantro, and garlic in the cavity and place the chicken in a roasting pan fitted with a rack. Fold the wing tips under the bird and tie the legs together with kitchen string. Drizzle the oil all over the chicken. If you have time, let the chicken marinate for 30 minutes to really get the flavors down deep into the meat. Roast the chicken for 1 hour; pop an instant-read thermometer into the thickest part of the thigh; if it reads 160 degrees F, it's done. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes so the juices can settle back into the meat. Remove and discard the skin from the chicken. Pull the chicken from the bone and shred the meat, with your fingers or 2 forks. Put the shredded chicken in a large bowl and squeeze the lemon halves that have cooked inside the bird over the meat to moisten.
• To prepare the Apricot Couscous: Put the couscous in a medium bowl; pour the water over it, stir with a fork to combine. Cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff with a fork. Put the apricots, almonds, green onions, mint, and cilantro on a cutting board and coarsely chop everything up; add this to the couscous. Add lemon juice, drizzle with olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.
• To prepare the Green Olive Sauce: In a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Saute the shallots and chile over low heat for 8 minutes until caramelized, then scrape into a food processor. Add the olives, parsley, vinegar, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup of oil; puree a good 3 minutes until totally smooth.
• To put the whole thing together: put the shredded chicken and couscous on the lavosh bread, add a few spoonfuls of the olive sauce, and roll the sandwich up. Wrap in foil and take the sandwich to a picnic, if desired.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH SQUASH AND DRIED PLUMS

Steps:

• In a medium glass bowl, combine the spice mixture, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and harissa. Add the chicken thighs and stir to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Warm the chicken broth and add the saffron strands, then allow to steep at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. In a Dutch oven over high heat, brown the chicken thighs on both sides in 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set chicken aside on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan, and saute the onion until golden, about 5 minutes. Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions and add any accumulated juices from the plate. Arrange the zucchini and yellow squash and tomato quarters on top of the chicken and tuck in the prunes and olives. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken broth and saffron.
• Cover and place on the bottom rack of the oven. Let cook undisturbed 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to a large serving dish.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the almonds and fry until the skins begin to crackle, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the almonds and hot oil over the vegetables and chicken on the serving dish. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve, spooning over the sauce in the dish and garnishing each plate with the lemon quarters.

MOROCCAN-STYLE CHICKEN WITH BUTTERNUT SQUASH NOODLES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
• Place spiralized butternut squash in a bowl; add 1 tablespoon oil, salt, and pepper. Toss to coat and transfer to a baking sheet.
• Bake in the preheated oven until just tender, 7 to 10 minutes.
• Heat butter and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add chicken and sprinkle both sides with Moroccan spice, salt, and pepper to taste. Cover pan and cook, turning occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken and set aside.
• Add orange juice, apricots, cranberries, and dates to the same saute pan over medium heat. Cook and stir until orange juice thickens, 3 to 4 minutes. Add almonds and toss to coat. Remove topping from heat.
• Plate each portion with butternut squash, cooked rice, chicken, and topping.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine carrots, chickpeas, onion, raisins, ginger, garlic, thyme, lemon zest, and olive oil; toss to coat.
• In a separate large bowl, stir together 2 teaspoons salt, 1 teaspoon pepper, coriander, cumin, and cinnamon. Add chicken legs, and toss to coat.
• Have ready four 12-by-17-inch sheets of parchment. Lay a sheet of the parchment paper on a work surface. Place 1/4 vegetable mixture in center of sheet; season with salt and pepper. Drizzle 2 tablespoons chicken stock over vegetables. Center 2 chicken legs over vegetables.
• To seal packet, bring edges of parchment together, and make a 1-inch fold, and crease. Make another 1/2-inch fold in the same direction, and crease to form a seam. Working with the edges of a short end, fold in towards center to meet, creating a triangle (as if wrapping a gift). Fold point under a few times, and press to seal; repeat with other side. Repeat with remaining ingredients and remaining 3 sheets of parchment.
• Transfer packets to a baking sheet. Bake until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender, about 1 hour 15 minutes. To serve, carefully cut open each packet with kitchen shears. Remove chicken and vegetables, and serve over couscous.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN ONE-POT

Steps:

• Season 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a flameproof dish, then brown the chicken on all sides. Remove the chicken to a plate.
• Whizz 1 chopped onion, 100g tomatoes, 100g chopped ginger and 3 garlic cloves into a rough paste.
• Fry 1 sliced onion in 1 tbsp olive oil in the dish until softened, then add 1 tsp turmeric, 1 tbsp cumin, 1 tbsp coriander and 1 tbsp cinnamon and fry for 1 min more until fragrant. Add the paste and fry for another few mins to soften.
• Return the chicken to the dish with 1 large butternut squash, cut into big chunks, 600ml chicken stock, 2 tbsp brown sugar and 2 tbsp red wine vinegar.
• Bring to a simmer, then cook for 30 mins until the chicken is cooked through.
• Lift the chicken out and stir in 100g dried cherries, then continue simmering the sauce to thicken while you shred the chicken into bite-sized chunks. Stir the chicken back into the sauce and season.
• Mix 1 finely chopped small red onion, the zest of 1 lemon, a handful of mint leaves and 100g crumbled feta cheese. Scatter over the dish, then serve with couscous and natural yogurt.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH DRIED FRUIT AND OLIVE TOPPING

Steps:

• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.
• Sprinkle salt, pepper, and thyme evenly over chicken.
• Add chicken to pan; cook 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove from pan; cover and keep warm.
• Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan.
• Add onion to pan; saute 2 minutes until tender.
• Add garlic to pan; saute 30 seconds.
• Add remaining ingredients to pan (fruit, wine, broth, olives, salt, and pepper); cook 5 minutes or until liquid almost evaporates.
• When there was still some liquid left in the pan, I threw the chicken back in to warm through and soak some of the flavor.