Another Nice Moroccan Chicken Recipe

In looking for a recipe to use some leftover dates with couscous and leftover rotisserie chicken from Publix, I found a nice Moroccan chicken and couscous recipe at food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/moroccan-chicken-121929). It is easy to prepare - a total of about 40-50 minutes of prep and cooking time. It serves two. (I'm not sure how authentic it is, but it sure tastes good.)

I made a couple of changes:
- The recipe calls for a pound of cut up boneless chicken breast. I had about half a pound of mostly breast meat on a whole rotisserie chicken. The chicken was Bourbon Maple chicken. That flavoring was primarily on the skin, which I removed.
- The recipe called for two tablespoons of flour, but did not say how to use it, so I eliminated it. That did not seem to affect the terrific flavor. (I assume this was for dredging to better coat the chicken. I'll probably do it next time to see the difference.)
- the couscous called for 1& 1/4 cups water. I used 1 cup chicken broth (The RiceSelect brand Moroccan-style couscous I use calls for 1 cup of liquid per 1 cup of couscous.) The chicken broth adds flavor.

(The food.com article also included a salad recipe, which I did not use.)

Ingredients

a. For chicken

- 1 lb boneless chicken breast, cut up
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon coriander
- 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste (I used 1/8)
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 3/4 cup chicken broth

b. For couscous

- 1&1/4 cups water (I used 1 cup chicken broth.)
- 1 cup couscous
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/4 cup chopped dates or 1/4 cup raisins (I imagine that other dried fruits like apricots or cranberries would work nicely.)
- 1 tablespoon capers

Directions

a. Chicken

- Combine chicken and all spices (I assume now that "all spices" includes the flour.)
- Heat the olive oil in a skillet and put in the chicken-spice mixture. (I used medium heat.) Cook 5 minutes, then transfer the chicken into a bowl.
- Pour the orange juice and 3/4 cup of chicken broth into the skillet.
- Let the sauce reduce.
- When it thickens, put the chicken back into the skillet and cook until done - 7 to 10 minutes.

b. Couscous

1. Put the liquid (water or broth), couscous, bay leaves, dried fruit, and capers into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. (I do this differently. I first put the liquid in the saucepan and bring it to a boil. Then I put in the other ingredients.)

2. When the saucepan ingredients reach the boiling point, remove the pan from the heat and cover. The couscous is done when all the liquid is absorbed. (If you do it my way, put in the other ingredients when the liquid reaches the boiling point. Then remove from heat and cover. Done this way, it takes about 4-5 minutes for the liquid to absorb.)

3. (Added by me) After the couscous is ready, fluff it with a fork and mix the ingredients well. Remove the bay leaves. You can now serve the chicken and couscous. Depending on your preferences, you can put the chicken on the couscous or alongside it.

Moroccan Chicken with Almond Coucous

Yesterday, I was searching for an easy recipe  in order to use chicken on sale and leftover dates. I came across this Moroccan chicken recipe and made it last night. It was very easy and tasty. I found it at myrecipes.com:    http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/moroccan-chicken-with-almond-couscous-10000000592290/.

I did make two changes. I used chicken breasts rather than chicken thighs, and I used cilantro paste from a squeeze tube rather than fresh cilantro. (I did not want to buy a whole bunch of fresh cilantro for only one tablespoon.) I cooked the chicken breasts in the same way that was suggested for the chicken thighs. That worked fine for me.

The recipe with the chicken thighs makes four servings. It took me about 45 minutes to prepare my modified version.

Ingredients

The ingredients are divided into two - those for the chicken portion of the dish and those for the couscous:

Chicken Ingredients

- 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- 1/2 reason cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- 8 chicken thighs (about 2 pounds), skinned (I used two skinless chicken breast fillets. I cut the larger one into three pieces, and the smaller into two. They weighed about 1 pound and a quarter.)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1- 1 & 1/4 cups shallots, peeled & quartered
- 1 & 1/4 cups fat-free, low sodium chicken broth divided - 1/4 cup and 1 cup
- 12 whole pitted dates, chopped
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro

Couscous Ingredients
- 3/4 cup chicken broth
- 3/4 cup water
- 1/4 teaspoon of salt
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
- 3/4 cup uncooked couscous
- 1/4 cup slivered almonds toasted

(The total of two cups of chicken broth equals 16 ounces, but the Publix and brand-name chicken broth come in 14/14.5 ounce cans, so I cut back a tiny bit on the broth so I would need only one can.)

Directions

Chicken Portion of the Recipe

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine the first 9 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dredge the chicken in the flour mixture. Reserve the remaining flour mixture.

Heat oil in a large, nonstick, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add chicken. Cook 3 minutes on one side. Turn chicken, remove skillet from heat. (I assumed that "turn chicken" meant, turn the chicken and cook the other side for 3 minutes, so I did that.)

Combine reserved flour mixture and shallots. Add to skillet. Stir in 1/4 cup chicken broth and dates. Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes or until chicken is done.

Remove skillet from oven. Place skillet over medium heat, and stir in 1 cup chicken broth. Cook for 1 minute, and stir in cilantro. Return chicken to pan. Cover; remove pan from heat.

Couscous Portion of Recipe

Combine 3/4 cup broth, 3/4 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a medium saucepan; and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from heat; cover and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork. Stir in almonds. Serve with chicken and sauce.

Tasty & Easy Moroccan Cucumber & Olive Salad

As an accompaniment to an apricot chicken and couscous main dish I made last night, I made the salad described below. It was very easy and very tasty. Since there were only three of us, I just used one cucumber. Since I did not have za'tar, which I love, I used and 1/8th of a teaspoon of marjoram and an 1/8th of oregano.

I found the recipe and commentary below at the following web site:

http://ninecooks.typepad.com/the_perfect_pantry_recipe/2010/04/moroccan-cucumber-salad-with-herbs-and-olives.html

Adapted from Paula Wolfert’s Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco, this salad is delicious without the olives, and more delicious with them. Seedless cucumbers are a must. Serves 6-8 as part of a tagine menu.

2 English cucumbers, sliced thin
2 Tbsp granulated sugar
2 tsp vinegar
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt + extra
1/4 tsp za’atar (sumac), or marjoram, thyme or oregano, or a mixture of two or three
Handful of cured black olives, rinsed and cut in half (optional)

Lightly salt the cucumbers and let them sit in a colander set over a bowl, for 15-20 minutes. Rinse and dry, and place in a mixing bowl with remaining ingredients except olives. Mix well. Chill until ready to serve. Add olives just before serving.

Yemeni-Moroccan-California Fusion in SF

While we were in San Francisco earlier this month, we had a terrific dinner at Saha (http://www.sahasf.com) - which offers a wonderful and unusual fusion of Yemeni Arabic, Moroccan, and California cuisines with French influences. In addition to Middle Eastern and North African dishes, Saha has many vegan dishes like shiitake mango ravioli, and many creative dishes like Salmon Baklava!

 

We had never had Yemeni cuisine, and I was anxious to try it. The experience was great. I wish we lived nearby. I would go there often

The atmosphere is warm and Middle Eastern.

Our waiter was a Moroccan named Hassan. He was very nice. He introduced us to Mohamed Aboghanem, the owner and chef. In our short conversation, Mohamed mentioned that Yemenis tend to use more cumin in their dishes; whereas Levantine Arabs tend to use more allspice.

Hassan began by bringing us some delicious, fresh-baked Moroccan bread with a dip of olive oil, sesame seeds and thyme.

My wife decided to have two appetizer dishes. She started with the traditional Arabic kibbeh. There are many versions of kibbeh - both cooked and raw. Saha serves a cooked version. It has an outer shell of cracked wheat (bulgur wheat) stuffed with ground beef, onions, pine nuts, and spices. It is served with a tomato sauce and leban (Middle Eastern Yoghurt). It was very tasty. (My mother used to make incredible kibbeh.)

I started with Lahem Sougar, a Yemeni dish. It involved grass-fed lamb sautéed with sumac, pine nuts, and olive oil, and served over Baba Ghanoush, with pita bread, olives, and harissa sauce. It was delicious, and cost $16.

My wife’s second appetizer dish was Bastilla, a Moroccan dish with chicken, almonds, onions, egg, parsley, and spices, wrapped in phyllo dough, baked with powdered sugar garnish and served over saffron sauce. It was wonderful and cost $12.

Bastilla

I had Helba, a Yemeni national dish made with okra, potatoes, fenugreek, rice and vegetable broth. Saha offers three versions - with only vegetables, with lamb and ground beef, and with wild salmon, ahi and scallops. I had the version with lamb & ground beef for $23. It was served with excellent pita bread. The Helba was fantastic. (Diners who have never had really fresh, genuine pita bread, rather than the mediocre supermarket versions are missing a real treat.)  

Our wine was a Nyers 2010 Vista Luna Borden Ranch Dry Creek Zinfandel for $41. It was very, very nice.

For dessert, my wife had crème brulée.

I had a Yemeni cake called Bisbusa, with syrup, strawberries, and pistacchio gelato for $6. It was very tasty.

One minor disappointment was that Saha did not serve Arabic coffee, so I had a cup of San Francisco Coffee Company coffee. Saha does serve Arabic tea.

Saha is located in the Hotel Carlton at 1075 Sutter St. Phone 415-345-9547. The night we were there, the restaurant was very busy, so I would strongly recommend reservations.

To get a really good appreciation of Saha, see the YouTube story at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlyZLGfJrQE