Moroccan Inspired Apricot Braised Chicken Food

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon. Combine 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove; set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pan over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip the chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have browned at the edges but still retain their shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add a few tablespoons of water now and then if the pan gets too dark). Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, honey, remaining lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken (with any accumulated juices) back in, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir in the olives, reserved lemon zest-garlic mixture, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve with couscous.
• Note: Don't fret too much over trimming the chicken thighs. The skin gets removed midway through the cooking process and most of the fat will cook off and get drained. I usually just take kitchen shears and quickly snip off any excess skin or fat. Cracked green olives are olives that have been 'cracked' or split open before curing, allowing the brine or marinade to penetrate. You can find them in your supermarket's olive bar, or substitute any green olive that you like.
• Make-Ahead: After you have completed the step of cooking the carrots, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm on the stove until the chicken is heated through, then proceed to the step where the olives and remaining ingredients are added.

INSTANT POT MOROCCAN CHICKEN

Steps:

• Season the chicken thighs generously with salt and pepper. Set an Instant Pot to sauté on high. When the pot registers hot, add the vegetable oil. Working in two batches, add the chicken skin-side down and cook until well browned, about 10 minutes. Remove to a plate.
• Add the onion, garlic, carrots, paprika, coriander, cumin, turmeric, ginger and cayenne to the pot. Cook, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste to coat the vegetables, scraping up the bottom of the pot. Stir in the cinnamon stick, preserved lemon, prunes and apricots, then turn off the pot.
• Add 2/3 cup water and the olive brine to the pot and stir well, scraping up the bottom of the pot. Return the chicken skin-side up to the pot in a single layer. Put on and lock the lid; make sure the steam valve is in the sealing position. Set the pot to pressure-cook on high for 8 minutes. When the time is up, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then carefully turn the steam valve to the venting position to manually release the remaining pressure. Turn off the pot and remove the lid.
• Transfer the chicken to a platter, leaving the liquid in the pot; discard the cinnamon stick. Stir the olives, cilantro, parsley and vinegar into the pot. Season with salt and pepper. Serve the chicken and sauce over couscous; top with more parsley and serve with harissa.

MOROCCAN BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• In a small bowl combine the apricots and the boiling water, let stand 10 minutes. Strain the apricots, reserving the the water, then dice the apricots. Set aside both the water and apricots until needed.
• In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium heat, add the chicken and saute for 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate.
• Add the onion and garlic to the skillet and cook 7 minutes, then add the celery and cook for 3 more minutes.
• Stir in the apricots and the reserved liquid, the chickpeas, tomatoes, lemon zest, lemon juice, coriander and pepper.
• Bring to a boil and return the chicken to the pan, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Stir in the cilantro and serve.

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.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH APRICOTS AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Stir together ground cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well.
• Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or in skillet), uncovered, over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown half of chicken, skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown remaining chicken in same manner, adding any spice mixture left in bowl.
• Add onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tagine and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Tie cilantro and parsley into a bundle with kitchen string and add to tagine along with 1/2 cup water, chicken, and any juices accumulated on plate. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
• While chicken cooks, bring honey, remaining cup water, cinnamon stick, and apricots to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are very tender (add more water if necessary). Once apricots are tender, simmer until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While apricots cook, heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a small skillet over moderate heat and cook almonds, stirring occasionally, until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Ten minutes before chicken is done, add apricot mixture to tagine. Discard herbs and cinnamon stick, then serve chicken sprinkled with almonds on top.

MOROCCAN INSPIRED APRICOT-BRAISED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Brown chicken thighs on both sides until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Set chicken aside, then stir in onion and garlic; cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the onion has softened. Stir in apricots and season with ginger, cumin, and allspice. Cook for 1 minute until spices are fragrant.
• Pour beer into pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to dissolve the browned bits. Add chicken, cover, and reduce heat to medium-low. Simmer gently until the chicken begins to fall away from the bone, about 30 minutes.