Moroccan Chicken and Dried Fruit with Couscous
Nutritional Info
- Servings Per Recipe: 6
- Amount Per Serving
- Calories: 444.6
- Total Fat: 7.0 g
- Cholesterol: 62.8 mg
- Sodium: 684.5 mg
- Total Carbs: 70.7 g
- Dietary Fiber: 6.4 g
- Protein: 25.7 g
View full nutritional breakdown of Moroccan Chicken and Dried Fruit with Couscous calories by ingredient
Introduction
One-pot complete meal (no omitting the starch the way many recipes here do). For maximum flavor, you can let the chicken rest with the spices for up to 8 hours, but it's still delicious with no rest at all! This is a basic recipe that you can modify and bulk up by adding veggies (carrots and/or eggplant work really well with these spices) - just adjust the simmering time so the veggies are cooked to your liking. One-pot complete meal (no omitting the starch the way many recipes here do). For maximum flavor, you can let the chicken rest with the spices for up to 8 hours, but it's still delicious with no rest at all! This is a basic recipe that you can modify and bulk up by adding veggies (carrots and/or eggplant work really well with these spices) - just adjust the simmering time so the veggies are cooked to your liking.Number of Servings: 6
Ingredients
-
1 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs cut into slightly bigger than bite-size pieces (each thigh cut into 3-4)
1 large yellow onion
1 can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
3 cloves of garlic (chopped)
1 Tbs fresh ginger (chopped)
1 Tbs honey
6 dried figs
6 dried apricots (Turkish ones if possible)
1.5 cups of Israeli couscous (the big pearl-sized couscous)
3.25 cups low-sodium chicken broth (if you add the full quart, it gets a bit soupy)
1 tsp salt
1 lime
2 Tbsp flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped
Spice mixture:
2 tsp cumin seed
2 tsp coriander seed
8 whole cloves
seeds from 8 cardamom pods
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
Tips
Look in the bulk section of your grocery store for the dried fruit and buy just what you need.
Substitute 1.25 cups of regular couscous for the Israeli, if you can't find it.
Directions
Take whole spices and grind, then combine with cinnamon and pepper. Divide into two. Add salt to one half of spices.
Coat chicken in salted spice mixture and let rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients (for maximum flavor, do this in the morning, throw it in the fridge, ready for dinner)
Chop the onion into a 0.5-1 inch dice.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
In a large saute pan (one with high sides), over medium-high heat, brown the chicken in a couple of batches (you're not cooking the chicken, just getting some color).
Remove the chicken and turn down the heat to medium-low.
Add onion to same pan and cook a few minutes, until translucent. Add second half of spice mix and cook until fragrant (30-60 seconds), then add chopped ginger and garlic.
Add chickpeas, dried fruit, honey, and chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Add chicken back in and simmer, covered for about 10 minutes.
Add the couscous to the pan, stirring thoroughly, and continue to cook until couscous is done (about 10-20 minutes more).
Serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped parsley, and a wedge of lime (the fresh acidity cuts the sweetness from the dried fruit).
Serving Size: Makes 6 servings.
Number of Servings: 6
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user LITTLE_NIKKE.
Coat chicken in salted spice mixture and let rest while you prep the rest of the ingredients (for maximum flavor, do this in the morning, throw it in the fridge, ready for dinner)
Chop the onion into a 0.5-1 inch dice.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
In a large saute pan (one with high sides), over medium-high heat, brown the chicken in a couple of batches (you're not cooking the chicken, just getting some color).
Remove the chicken and turn down the heat to medium-low.
Add onion to same pan and cook a few minutes, until translucent. Add second half of spice mix and cook until fragrant (30-60 seconds), then add chopped ginger and garlic.
Add chickpeas, dried fruit, honey, and chicken broth and bring to a simmer.
Add chicken back in and simmer, covered for about 10 minutes.
Add the couscous to the pan, stirring thoroughly, and continue to cook until couscous is done (about 10-20 minutes more).
Serve in bowls, sprinkled with chopped parsley, and a wedge of lime (the fresh acidity cuts the sweetness from the dried fruit).
Serving Size: Makes 6 servings.
Number of Servings: 6
Recipe submitted by SparkPeople user LITTLE_NIKKE.