Moroccan Chicken, Chickpeas and Apricots

Posted on May 19, 2010 by PeggyPrint Recipe Only | Email Recipe | Leave a Comment
Filed under: All Recipes, Peggy's Healthy Picks, Poultry Pin It

One could make the argument that this recipe is as authentic to Morocco as the film shoot location of the movie “Casablanca,” which was primarily filmed on the Warner Bros.’ Southern California lot.

I didn’t use a tagine (clay pot) to make the recipe and I didn’t shop in a souk (Moroccan market) for my spices. I used instant couscous, canned chickpeas and took shortcuts and liberties because of time constraints.

There are many versions of Moroccan Chicken to be found on recipe websites and Paula Wolfert has an excellent “Chicken Tagine with Chick Peas” recipe in her 1973 cookbook classic, “Couscous and Other Good Foods from Morocco.”

I tweaked a recipe found on myrecipes.com, which was appealing because it’s fairly simple to make and offers a tapestry of the flavors I love most in Moroccan cuisine.Chickpea dishes are quite popular in Middle Eastern food (think hummus) and they regularly appear in Moroccan tagines and couscous dishes. Soaked and cooked chickpeas have, in my opinion, the best texture but you can’t beat canned chickpeas for convenience.

This may look difficult because of the amount of ingredients, but many of them are cupboard staples and spices. Perfect served with whole grain or plain couscous.

Recipe: Moroccan Chicken, Chickpeas and Apricots

Summary: Moroccan Chicken, Chickpeas and Apricots

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons grape seed or canola  oil
  • 2 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs, visible fat removed then trimmed into 2-3-inch pieces
  • 2 cups thinly sliced yellow onion
  • 2 tablespoons chopped or grated peeled fresh ginger
  • 1 teaspoon finely chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or harissa
  • 1-2 cups chicken stock
  • 1 (15 1/2-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed and drained
  • 1 1/2 cups dried apricots, halved
  • 1 tablespoon finely chopped parsley

Instructions

  1. Lightly season chicken with kosher salt. Heat a large sauté pan or Dutch oven to medium high heat. Add oil and when hot, but not smoking, sear chicken thighs until golden brown on each side. Remove chicken from pan and reserve.
  2. Reduce heat to medium low and add onion to pan. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring, then stir in ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric. Cook for an additional minute then stir 1 cup stock into pan. Simmer, scraping sides and bottom of pan.
  3. Add chickpeas, apricots and reserved chicken to pan. Cover and simmer until slightly thickened and chicken is completely cooked, 20-25 minutes, adding additional stock if the stew becomes dry before the chicken is cooked. Stir in chopped parsley and serve.

Active Time: 20 minutes

Simmer Time: 20 minutes

Number of servings (yield): 4-6 servings

Copyright © Peggy Lampman’s dinnerFeed.

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