Being a vegetable fanatic, it seems to me that pretty much all recipes are improved with additional vegetables. The first time I prepared this dish, which I clipped out of a magazine nearly 20 years ago, aside from the aromatics, it only had potatoes, which suits many people just fine, but not me. I have used this wonderfully flavored aromatic dish as a vehicle to inspire my kids to love their vegetables and have added carrots, stalks of celery, zucchini and green beans to this dish. Our most frequent combination has been this version, featuring zucchini and green beans as our family’s once-covert veggie ad on.
Kind or a braise, kind of a stew…(a brewse?), this is a variation on the North African tagine. This beautifully spiced dish is traditionally served over couscous. To GF it, we serve it over quinoa, which has a similar mouth feel to couscous and adds a double dose of protein to the meal.
Moroccan Chicken Stew
- September 27, 2021
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Ingredients
- 6 bone-in chicken thighs, trimmed of fat
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, seeded, deveined and minced
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 2 cup chicken broth
- ½ cup sliced pitted green olives
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 ½ cups potatoes, cut into ½ inch cubes (use boiling potatoes, not baking potatoes)
- ¼ pound green beans, ends trimmed (about 4 ounces)
- 3 small, 2 medium or 1 large zucchini, halved and cut into 4” lengths
- 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus more for serving
Directions
- Step 1
- Preheat oven to 350
- Step 2
- Season chicken with salt and pepper
- Step 3
- In a large dutch oven or other oven-proof pot with a lid, heat oil over medium-high until hot.
- Step 4
- Add chicken skin side down and cook, turning as needed until browned on all sides, 5 minutes.
- Step 5
- Remove chicken and put aside on plate or platter
- Step 6
- Cook in batches and avoid over-crowding, allowing oil to return to temperature between batches to ensure even browning
- Step 7
- Reduce heat to medium and add onion to pot
- Step 8
- Cook until onions begin to soften, scraping up browned bits from the bottom of the pan
- Step 9
- Add the other aromatics (ginger, garlic and jalapenos) and stir until fragrant
- Step 10
- Add broth and crape up browned bits from the bottom of the pot
- Step 11
- Add spices, chicken and accumulated juices from plate followed by remaining ingredients (except for cilantro)
- Step 12
- Gently submerge all veggies and bring to a boil
- Step 13
- Cover pot with lid and place in oven for 40-45 minutes, or until chicken is tender and cooked through
- Step 14
- Remove from oven, taste for seasoning and adjust if needed adding additional lemon juice or seasonings
- Step 15
- Stir in cilantro
- Step 16
- If thicker stew, is desired remove chicken and veggies and reduce liquid
- Step 17
- Serve in bowls over quinoa. Garnish with additional cilantro
