Moroccan Chicken Stew

Still cold. Still needing lots of recipes for soups and stews. So here’s another one to add to your collection. This one is incredibly fragrant since it is based on the tagines of North Africa. As an accompaniment to this stew, I baked a loaf of zucchini Parmesan quick bread for dinner {I’ll post the recipe for the bread next}. The combination of the fresh ginger, garlic, cinnamon, tumeric, cumin, coriander and fresh baking bread made our home smell amazing… and warm.

I spotted this recipe over at the BBC’s Good Food website. I did decide to use boneless, skinless chicken thighs instead of the breasts because I’m always reading how they are much more tender and flavorful in stews like this. I think it was a very good choice. Beyond that, I cut back just a bit on the spice simply because my children aren’t used to these flavors all the time. And also, I cooked whole wheat pearl-sized couscous right in the pot, instead of serving it on the side.

This was a truly delicious and comforting stew. My children didn’t bat an eye at the unfamiliar blend of flavors and said they liked it. The empty bowls at the dinner table confirmed this to be true!

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Moroccan Chicken Stew

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of visible fat
• 3 T. olive oil divided
• 2 onions diced
• 1 28-oz. can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 c. fresh ginger peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 t. each of cinnamon coriander and cumin
• 1 t. turmeric
• 1 1/2 t. salt divided
• 1/4 c. red wine
• 4 c. chicken stock
• 2 T. brown sugar
• 1 large butternut squash peeled, seeded and cubed
• 2/3 c. dried cherries
• 1/2 c. whole wheat pearl-sized couscous
• Fresh mint and feta cheese to serve

Instructions

• In a stock pot, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat. Add the chicken thighs, sprinkle evenly with 1/2 teaspoon of salt and cook, about 5 -6 minutes per side until cooked through. Remove chicken from pot to a plate and tent loosely with foil.
• Add remaining tablespoon of oil to pot and add 1 of the diced onions. Cook, stirring occasionally for about 6 - 7 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the other onion, drained tomatoes and sliced ginger to a food processor. Process until smooth.
• To the onions in the pot, add the red wine and simmer for 2 minutes, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
• Add the spices and remaining 1 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring one minute more.
• Add the tomato mixture from the food processor, the brown sugar and the chicken stock. Stir to combine.
• Shred the cooked chicken thighs and return to the pot.
• Bring entire mixture to a simmer and stir in the butternut squash. Cook on a simmer, partially covered for 15 minutes.
• Add the couscous and dried cherries and simmer the stew for 15 more minutes.
• Serve the stew topped with feta cheese and fresh chopped mint.

Notes

Adapted from BBC Good Food