Moroccan Spiced Roast Chicken Food

MOROCCAN-SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Slick a heavy large rimmed baking sheet--preferably not a roasting pan, but if you do use a roasting pan, make it a big one--with a little oil.
• Pull out and discard the fat and giblets from the cavity of the chicken. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels. Starting at the edge of the main cavity, slide a finger under the skin over each breast half, making a pocket between the skin and meat. Rub a total of 1 tablespoon of salt over the chicken skin and toss a little salt inside the cavity. Sprinkle the chicken generously with black pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix the paprika, cumin, pepper flakes, and cinnamon. Set aside 2 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mixture for the vegetables. The rest is for the chicken. Finely grate the zest from the lemon, cut the lemon into quarters, and mix the zest into the spices for the chicken. Gradually mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make a paste. Spread a little of the paste inside the cavity, slather some of it under the skin over the chicken breasts, and rub the rest of the paste all over the outside of the chicken. Toss the lemon quarters inside the cavity. Tie the legs together, if desired. Place the chicken in the center of the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it and if it browns too quickly cover it loosely with a sheet of foil.
• Tie the legs together, if desired. Place the chicken in the center of the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it and if it browns too quickly cover it loosely with a sheet of foil.
• Meanwhile, cut the sweet potatoes in half crosswise, and then quarter each half lengthwise to create wedges. Combine the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and onion in a bowl. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss to coat. Add the reserved spice mixture, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• After the chicken has been roasted for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven. Tilt the sheet pan and spoon off most of the fat. Return the chicken to the center of the sheet and spoon the vegetables around it. Return the pan to the oven and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh registers 165°F (74°C), about 40 minutes longer, depending on the size of the bird. (Note: the bird will take longer to roast if the legs have been tied together. It will also take longer if you ended up with a behemoth bird that's closer to five pounds than four.) If the skin is getting too dark before the meat is done, reduce the oven temperature to 425°F (218°C).
• Arrange the chicken on a platter and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables.

MOROCCAN ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425° and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. In a bowl, mix the butter with the cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, cayenne and cinnamon and season with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry. Rub half of the spice butter under the skin and the rest over the chicken; season with salt and pepper.
• Set the chicken breast-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. Scatter the onion, garlic cloves, dates and dried apricots and add 1/2 cup of water. Roast for 30 minutes, until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned.
• Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up. Add another 1/2 cup of water. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 175° to 180°.
• Tilt the chicken to drain the cavity juices into the pan; transfer the bird to a cutting board. Remove the rack from the pan and spoon off the fat. Set the pan over high heat. Add the stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits. Carve the chicken and pass the chunky jus at the table.

ROASTED MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Pat chicken dry and rub with flattened garlic cloves; place garlic in cavity. Squeeze lemon into small bowl; place lemon in cavity.
• Brush chicken with half of juice.
• Mix spices and salt and rub over and inside chicken.
• Tie legs together. Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet.
• Add chicken, breast side up. Add remaining lemon juice to skillet. Baste
• chicken withpan juices. Transfer to oven, and bake until juices run clear.
• Baste occasionally. Roast about 1 hour -- .

MOROCCAN-SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven; preheat to 450 degrees F. Toss the green beans and carrots with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1/2 teaspoon each ras el hanout and salt and a few grinds of pepper on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast on the upper rack until tender and lightly browned, adding the almonds halfway through, 25 to 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken on both sides with the remaining 1 teaspoon ras el hanout and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add to the skillet; cook until browned, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to another rimmed baking sheet and roast on the lower oven rack until cooked through, about 10 minutes.
• Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the shallot. Cook, stirring, until tender, about 1 minute. Stir in the chicken broth, scraping up any browned bits, then add the apricots, olives and harissa. Cook until the apricots soften and the broth is reduced by two-thirds, about 5 minutes; season with salt. Pour any accumulated juices from the chicken into the sauce.
• Slice the chicken and serve with the roasted vegetables. Spoon the sauce over the chicken.

ROASTED ORGANIC CHICKEN WITH MOROCCAN SPICES

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Blend first 9 ingredients in blender to moist paste.
• Remove neck, giblets, and excess fat from main cavity of chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Rub 1/3 of spice paste into main cavity and neck cavity, then rub remaining spice paste all over outside of chicken. Place lemons and garlic cloves in main cavity of chicken. Tie legs together. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Roast 45 minutes; tent with foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter; let stand 10 minutes (internal temperature will increase by 5 to 10 degrees).
• *A Moroccan spice blend available at some specialty foods stores, Middle Eastern markets, and by mail from The Spice House (312-274-0378; thespicehouse.com).

MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Combine spices with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Season chicken to coat both sides.
• Preheat large nonstick skillet, add olive oil. Cook chicken breasts about 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken and keep warm.
• Add the fennel and onions to the pan and saute for 7 mnutes or so. The fennel should be tender but not mushy. If the pan appears to be too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Should be enough to moisten without steaming the vegetables.
• Boil two cups of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add couscous to water and turn off heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the grains before serving.
• Add juice, broth and the last 1/4 teasppon salt and bring to a boil for about 1 minute. Add constarch mixed in 1 tablespoon of water. Stir until it just begins to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add chicken and chopped fennel , cook 2 more minutes.
• Spoon coucous onto plate, with chicken and fennel and onions. Spoon portion of sauce on top.

MOROCCAN SPICED ROAST CHICKPEAS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Pat the chickpeas dry between two paper towels then place on the baking sheet. Drizzle with the olive oil then roast the chickpeas in the middle of the oven, tossing every 15 minutes, until deeply golden, dry and crunchy, 40 to 45 minutes.
• While the chickpeas roast, prepare the spice mixture: combine the cumin, brown sugar, cayenne, cinnamon, garlic, ginger, paprika and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until the color is uniform. As soon as the chickpeas come out of the oven, toss with the spice blend. Serve warm or at room temperature.

RAS EL-HANOUT, MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the Ras al-hanout spice mixture: Combine the cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves in a small bowl.
• Thoroughly pat the chicken dry and dredge in the ras al-hanout spices until pieces are nicely covered but not over-loaded. Place in a bowl or large dish and scatter thyme and garlic over the chicken. Pour 1/2 C olive oil over and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight if possible, or several hours.
• Remove marinated chicken and place on counter for 30 minutes. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the dish, keeping the marinade, and brown chicken on all sides in the hot oil. (Do not rush this as the browning will help keep the chicken from feeling "dusty" from the spice mix covering it. This is also why you do not want to over-load the chicken with the spice mix.)
• Set the chicken aside and add the onion to the Dutch oven, cook until translucent.
• Return the chicken to the Dutch oven, adding the lemon and the reserved marinade. Sprinkle generously with salt. Add enough broth to almost cover the chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken has begun to pull away from the bones and is quite tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid the last 15 minutes of cooking time to reduce the broth. If it needs to reduce further, remove the chicken and boil the broth until nicely reduced to approximately 2 cups, but you can reduce it less if you want more sauce. You can thicken the sauce with cornstarch mixed with water.
• Serve with white rice or other grain of choice.