Thursday, April 23, 2009

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon and Olives

Oh my gosh, was this one fabulous dinner. The lemon & olives brought this tang to the dish that mixed so well with the spices & really gave it a punch that pushed it over the edge to fantastic. And the smell, to die for!
Moroccan Chicken with Lemons & Olives
To make it even better it comes together in a snap! Pretty much one hour from start to finish. It's the type of dish that would work perfectly if you were having guests over for dinner after work. Not much fuss but definitely impressive.

Moroccan Chicken with Lemon & Olives
(adapted from Bon Appetite May '09 for number of servings)

1 lemon
1/2 T olive oil
1 medium onion, cut in half & then sliced thin
salt & pepper
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 T paprika
1 t cumin
1/2 t cinnamon
1/2 t ground ginger
1 c chicken broth
4 chicken thighs, on the bone with skin removed
10 green olives (we couldn't find any that were pitted without a filling so we bought some stuffed with almonds & actually liked that addition)

Slice the lemon in half. Cut one half into 4 wedges. Squeeze the juice from the other half. Set juice & wedges aside.

In a skillet heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onions & season with salt & pepper. Sauté until golden brown. Stir in the garlic paprika, cumin, cinnamon & ginger & cook while stirring for 1 minute. Add the chicken broth & bring to a boil. Add the chicken thighs & lemon wedges. Cover & reduce heat to medium-low. Let simmer for 30 minutes, turning the chicken from time to time.

Remove the chicken to a plate. Add the lemon juice & olives to the skillet. Turn the heat to high & let boil for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened.

Serve the sauce over the chicken. We served the chicken & sauce over basmati rice.

Serves 2

15 comments:

  1. Yesterday I made some Moroccan style chicken, a little different than yours. I find it so funny that people end up making similar things... like the whopper cookies for example. Cracks me up. I really like this idea and I will try it next. I just made some preserved elmons the other day. In a couple weeks they will be ready. Looks delicious Kat!

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  2. i can't help but get excited whenever i see that cinnamon is an ingredient in a dish, whether sweet or savory. i love moroccan flavors, and this moist, saucy chicken dish looks perfect.

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  3. I've made a similar dish with apricots and olives, that is really good. This one seems a bit quicker, though so I will have to try!

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  4. I just bookmarked this last night from my magazine! Was planning on making it and now I definitely will!

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  5. That looks absolutely delicious. I love cooking chicken with lots of flavor and this sounds so good!

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  6. Wow just looking to tha beautiful pic of the chicken dish makes me drool drool drool.
    My hubby is not that wild about leamon taste in the dishes, otherwise i would have made this .

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  7. So simple, and I bet so delicious. A great combo with the lemons and olives!!

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  8. Kat,
    I have a great Moroccan chicken tagine recipe from Rachael Ray (of all people) and I serve it on couscous.
    This sounds even better.
    I will also bookmark it to make.
    I love those green olives!

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  9. You can never go wrong with olives in any dish. I made preserved lemons with the sole purpose of lemon chicken but just realized I forgot about them. Going to have to bring them out for this dish.

    Nicely done and looks beautiful!

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  10. I like this recipe, preserved lemons have that special flavor that you can't substitute

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  11. That looks tasty! I've got some lemons preserving right now and this is one of the first dishes that I will make with them when they are ready.

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  12. Yum! I have made a Delia Smith dish that is similar to this (but with the rice cooked in) and it is so delicious!

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  13. Ummm, that hint of cinnamon makes this very exotic. Which way to Fez?

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  14. I have this recipe planned for next week! I'm so glad you liked it!

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  15. Moroccan flavors are so nice. Just starting to learn about North African cuisine so this sounds intriguing.

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