Just because I still need to perfect my Latke Crusted Chicken with Apple Cider, Mushroom and Rosemary Sauce doesn't mean that I can't have other recipes on my mind too! Gotta think about next year's cook-off ;-)
I had some people over for Shabbos lunch this past week and was a little sick of cholent (even though I do make a really good cholent, ifImaysaysomyself). But I also figured that throwing all the ingredients for whatever I was making into a crockpot on Friday afternoon and walking away would make my life super easy. I settled on a Moroccan chicken with lots of spices and Middle Eastern-inspired flavors. But then around 3:30 PM on Friday, after panicking for six hours that my chicken would dry out by lunchtime on Saturday after cooking for 17 hours, I decided to just bake everything and re-heat it on a hot plate for lunch. (These are literally the things that keep me up at night: "will my chicken dry out?")
I decided to make this dish with bone-in chicken thighs because the dark meat tends to be moister than chicken breasts, and since this was going to be re-heated the next day for several hours, I didn't want anything to be too dry. But if you're making this dish and serving it right away, use whatever cut of meat you prefer. (A whole chicken cut into 1/8's would work great, too.) I would, however, recommend using bone-in chicken (and not boneless) since the veggies underneath the chicken need to cook for quite a while, and boneless chicken will almost certainly dry out. I also kept the skin on because I love crispy skin, but you could remove the skin and it would still be great - in fact, the spices will permeate the meat even more and probably be extra yummy. Serve this over some rice or couscous and you have a really lovely tagine-inspired meal.
This is such a good, healthy, colorful, pretty dish - so pretty, in fact, that I totally forgot to garnish the serving platter with the toasted sliced almonds and chopped parsley that I literally prepped and had ready just for this meal. Such is my life..... (The instructions for the garnish are included anyway!)
Moroccan Chicken
serves 8-10
1 lb. butternut squash, cut into 1 inch cubs
1 small onion, chopped
1 cup dried apricots (cut in half - optional)
1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup raisins
salt and pepper
3/4 cup canola oil, divided
4 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbsp. cumin
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tsp. cayenne pepper
3 lbs. chicken on the bone with skin (any combination of pieces)
2 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced almonds
parsley to garnish
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine
the squash, onion, apricots, chickpeas, raisins, salt and pepper in one
large roasting pan or two 9"x13" pans. Toss with 1/4 cup oil to coat.
3. In a large bowl, combine cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, and
cayenne pepper and mix with remaining 1/2 cup oil. Rub individual
pieces of chicken with the oil and spice mixture and lay the chicken on
top of the vegetables. (Divide chicken among two pans if using two
9"x13" pans.)
4. Pour chicken stock around the base of the pan(s) and
bake, covered, at 375 degrees for 1 hour or until fully cooked. Increase
heat to 425 and uncover chicken; cook for an additional 15 minutes
until the skin is crispy.
5. Meanwhile, in a dry pan over medium heat, toast the sliced almonds.
