Last week I ran, hiked and was doped into taking a class at the gym that I though was core and stretching. Instead we did 1,234,244 squats, I won’t even mention the side planks. Evil, pure evil. I walked hobbled crawled out of that studio and dragged myself to the car. My legs almost too weak to press the peddles.
Weak and wobbly I still needed to make dinner. I wanted something savory and comforting to easy my pain, but I didn’t want to completely undo my torture session.
Something, with a little tang, savory and finger licking good, but not typical.
Then I thought who says you need a passport to enjoy a delicious exotic meal, or that you need some crazy unknown ingredients? Sometimes all you need are some of your everyday pantry items. I thought I would try making some Moroccan chicken. Now I do not claim this dish to be authentic, but I will claim it is delicious.
I started off with 4 quarters of chicken, broken down and skinned.
Season chicken with salt. Heat oil in large pot or dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add chicken, browning on each side. Remove from pot and set aside.
Add onion, sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes.
Add garlic and ginger, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes.
Add spices and saute another minute.
Add lemon juice to the pot, scrap up brown bits at the bottom of the pot.
Stir in prunes. You can also use dried apricots or raisins.
Add broth, stir and scrap the bottom to be sure you got all the brown bits and goodies.
Return chicken to the pot and bring to a boil.
Add lemon wedges and 1/4 cup of olives. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes.
Transfer chicken to platter.
Add remaining olives. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over chicken with olives and lemons, serve.
I served the chicken with cumin spiced roasted cauliflower, but it would be great with rice or roasted potatoes.
This dish most defiantly falls under the category of finger-licking-good. The perfect fork full is chicken, olive, a bit of prune and just a tiny piece of lemon rind. Sweet, savory, briny and tang all in one bite. Guaranteed you will lick your plate. You won’t even feel guilty about doing it in front of company.
Moroccan Chicken with Lemon, Olives & Prunes
Ingredients
- Juice from 1 lemon
- 1 lemon, cut into 8 wedges
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, pressed
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 10 prunes, chopped
- 2 cups low-salt chicken broth
- 3.5 lbs chicken quarters (about 4 quarters), cut into 8 pieces, skin removed
- 1/2 cup green olives
I’ve made this several times and every single time I’ve served it to people everyone loved it! Truly a recipe to come back to
Delicious AND authentic! I lived with a Moroccan family for the better part of a year and this was one of my favorites! The only two things they did differently was use golden raisins instead of olives (they put olives in a different chicken tagine) and they used preserved lemons instead of fresh (basically, poke a few holes in fresh lemons and layer them in a jar of Kosher salt for a couple of weeks).
I can’t wait to try your version WITH the olives!
I made this for dinner tonight and it was totally DELISH!
The fragrance of chicken simmering with cinnamon and cumin was amazing.
Definitely a do over, ….and over and over and over!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! It’s a very comforting dish.
mmm that looks so yummy, definately going to try that recepie
This looks delicious – I never thought to add lemon to something with prunes and olives, but it sounds amazing…first night my fiance is busy (he doesn’t like olives) this is my dish!! Thanks!
This looks like something I would LOVE. I’m really into all of those flavors and it seems fairly easy too!!