I love moroccan food, the combination of sweet and savory spices and flavors that are usually in these types of dishes just lure me in and don’t let me go. I have a hard time getting myself to quit eating and this dish was no exception.
I completely over-ate.
I just could not stop, it was SO good. I didn’t even eat ice cream later in the evening because I was SO full.
I really try not to do things like that most of the time – not good for the figure you know.
Of course being pregnant with our 4th child isn’t really very good for that either. So I guess I was celebrating a little, 9 months of not worrying about weight gain – wahoo! Well for the most part, I won’t get too carried away but I intend to enjoy myself a little.
I noticed just now as I went back to Epicurious.com to peek at the recipe for this that they recommended serving this over couscous, which I probably would have done if I had been paying attention. But once those smells of cooking onions and cinnamon hit me, all I could think about was dipping bread in the juices and tearing off hunks of chicken with my fingers, so I served it tajine style. I’ll include the bread recipe below so you can choose how you want to do it.
(serves 6)
Ingredients
3 1/2 pounds chicken breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks (I only had boneless skinless breasts and they worked just fine)
1 tablespoon all purpose flour
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 pounds shallots (about 11 large), peeled
3 cinnamon sticks
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3 cups low-salt chicken broth
5 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
12 dates, pitted, halved
1/4 cup almonds, toasted, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation Instructions
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat.
2. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt, pepper and flour.
3. Brown the chicken pieces on both sides, in batches if necessary, set aside on a plate. Pour off any excess fat from the pot.
4. Reduce heat to medium and add the shallots and cook until they just start to soften and turn golden. Then add the cinnamon sticks, ginger, cumin, turmeric and cayenne, cook and stir until spices are fragrant.
5. Increase the heat to high and add the chicken broth and 3 tablespoons of the lemon juice, bring to a boil, reduce heat and cover. Cook until shallots soften, about 15 minutes.
6. Place the chicken pieces on top of the shallots and cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 25 minutes for bone-in chicken and 20 for boneless.
7. Transfer chicken and shallots to serving platter and tent with foil to keep warm.
8. Bring pan juices to a boil and simmer until slightly thickened. Stir in dates and remaining 2 tablespoons of lemon juice, reduce heat and simmer until dates are heated through, about 2 minutes.
9. Pour sauce and dates over the chicken and sprinkle with almonds and cilantro and serve.
If you want to make the Moroccan Fry Bread to go with this here is the recipe:
(makes 1 loaf)
Ingredients
2 cups flour
1/4 cup cream of wheat
1 1/2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon salt
about 2 cups warm water
Preparation Instructions
1. Combine all the ingredients except the water in a large mixing bowl, you probably could use a stand mixer with the paddle attachment but I have this enormous bowl I like to use and it’s easy enough to mix by hand. Whisk the dry ingredients together and then add the water, it’s a pretty loose dough.
2. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes or until it starts to rise up a bit.
3. Heat a medium size skillet over medium low heat, spray the sides of the pan just a tiny bit with cooking spray and then sprinkle cream of wheat into the pan just to coat it a bit. Pour in the batter so that it fills the pan. Allow to cook until the sides are starting to cook then with a large spatula, flip it over and cook the other side. Once it’s pretty dark on each side remove from the pan and serve hot.
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