Moroccan-Style Spiced Chicken Stew
June 27th, 2009 | View Comments
Prep time: 45 mins
Cook time: 45 mins
Serves: 4
I love braising, especially chicken thighs, and I love an excuse to put olives in my food, so when I saw this recipe in my free trial issue of Cuisine at Home, I had to try it.
But.
The original recipe only make 4 thighs. In my household that serves two people. Which is one meal. If I’m going to slave in the kitchen for two hours from prep to cleanup (Cuisine at Home says total time 45 minutes, to which I say, yeah right, the stovetop time is already 45 minutes), it better feed us for more than one meal and I suspect most of you feel the same. So I doubled the recipe and did a little tweaking of the seasonings and this is what I came up with.
Moroccan-Style Spiced Chicken Stew
Adapted from Cuisine at Home
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (3-3.5 lbs), trimmed of excess skin and fat
2 T. olive oil
2 t. paprika
2 t. ground coriander
1 t. ground cumin
1/2 t. Chinese 5-spice powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. Kosher salt
1 large onion, diced
2 T. fresh ginger, minced
4-6 medium-to-large cloves garlic, minced or run through a garlic press (about 2 T.)
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
3 star anise
1/2 c. dry white wine
2 t. tomato paste
4 large Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 c. low-salt chicken broth
1 15-oz. cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 heaping c. pitted kalamata olives
2 T. honey
1 lemon, seeded and cut into 8 wedges
1 bay leaf
In a small bowl, combine ginger, garlic, pepper flakes, and star anise. Set aside. In another small bowl, combine paprika, coriander, cumin, Chinese 5-spice powder, cayenne, and Kosher salt. Rub this spice mixture all over chicken thights.
Heat olive oil in a 12-inch straight-sided sauté pan over medium heat. When oil is shimmering, but not yet smoking, add chicken, skin-side down, in a single layer. You may need to work in two batches (in my case, the chicken was a very tight fit). Let chicken cook undisturbed for 6 minutes or until skin is nicely browned. Turn chicken over and cook 4 minutes more, until the other side is browned. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Pour off all but 1 T. fat and return the pan to medium heat.
Add onion and sauté until softened, about 3 minutes. Make a hollow in the center of the pan and add the garlic and ginger mixture, pressing it into the pan, then stirring to incorporate. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add wine and tomato paste, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen the browned bits. Simmer until the liquid evaporates, about 10 minutes. Remove the star anise.
Add tomatoes, chicken broth, chickpeas, olives, honey, lemon, and bay leaf. Stir to combine. Return to the chicken to the pan, arranging the thighs skin-side up in a single layer on top and pour in any accumulated juices. Reduce heat to medium low. Cover, and simmer until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 170 degrees, 25-30 minutes.
A couple thoughts for mods: if you have a Dutch oven, use it instead of the saute pan. Everything barely fit into my 3-quart pan; a 5-quart Dutch oven should give you plenty of room as long as you brown the chicken in two batches at the beginning.
The original recipe calls for ground cinnamon and cinnamon sticks, but I didn’t have any on hand. Hence, the use of Chinese 5-spice powder (which contains cinnamon) and star anise. If you want, use 1/2 t. ground cinnamon instead of the 5-spice powder and 2 cinnamon sticks instead of the star anise. Leave the cinnamon sticks in for the duration of cooking; I remove the star anise early because it has such a strong flavor and because they can come apart during stewing and I really dislike picking out little star bits from my food.
My stew was already plenty salty, thanks to the chickpeas and olives, but you may want to add salt to taste at the end.
Try serving it with pita bread!
Yvonne posted this on June 27th, 2009 @ 11:43pm in Chicken, One Pot Meals | Permalink to "Moroccan-Style Spiced Chicken Stew"
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Likes to cook, eat, grow herbs, and collect kitchen gear in Houston, TX. 
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