Truth be told, this is the first time I’ve ever eaten Moroccan Stew … which would also make this the first time I’ve ever made Moroccan Stew. I don’t know why, but a couple days ago, I decided I wanted to try it so therefore I’d make it. I did a bit of research to see what went into a Moroccan stew and went from there, changing some things for my taste. In one of the recipes, or maybe several, I noticed honey was present in this stew. I decided to use apricot jam in place of the honey. The reason I did this is one of the recipes I saw included dried apricots. Instead of raisins, I used a berry blend. This was actually a comedy of errors that worked out quite well. I thought I had a bag of golden raisins, but once I put my reading glasses on (LOL), I realized it was a bag of dried berries. Oh well, I thought to myself. I’ll give it a whirl and see how it turns out. It turned out great. Dennis and I were happy with my little mishap. The result was a winner.

I started with skinless, boneless chicken thighs. I placed them in a large ziplock bag with a few tablespoons of all-purpose flour and shook it around, coating my chicken.

I then browned my chicken in olive oil in a large skillet.

This took about 8 minutes … 5 on the first side, another few on the other. I removed the chicken from the skillet and placed it on a plate.

Next, I added a red onion that I had sliced into quarter rounds into the skillet and cooked it for about 5 minutes.

While my chicken was browning, I added a few seasonings to a dish and mixed them together. These seasonings were cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cumin, cayenne pepper and kosher salt.

I added my seasonings, along with 4 cloves of minced garlic, to the onion. I cooked this together for about 45 seconds before adding a 28-1/2 ounce can of tomato puree and 1/4 cup of apricot jam and another 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt. I stirred the tomato and jam together and added the chicken (as well as those yummy juices that accumulated on the plate) back into the skillet, nestling it into the sauce and cooking it for 10 minutes.

I then added a 15-1/2 ounce can of garbanzo beans that I had drained and rinsed, two green peppers, cut into 1/2 inch size chunks, and 1/2 cup dried berries and 1/3 cup chopped dried apricots to the skillet. I stirred everything together and simmered for another 15 minutes, until the peppers were softened and the chicken was done.

I actually wasn’t sure what Dennis would think of Moroccan Stew, but he absolutely loved it. He told me it’s his new favorite chicken dish of mine. We served this over Israeli Cous Cous and garnished it with slivered almonds and minced parsley.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 red onion, cut into quarter rounds

4 cloves garlic, minced

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

2 green peppers, chopped in 1/2 inch chunks

1/4 cup apricot jam

1/3 cup dried apricots, diced

1/2 cup dried berry blend (or golden raisins)

28-1/2 ounce can tomato puree

15-1/2 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed

slivered almonds

parsley, minced

Directions

1. Place flour and chicken in ziplock bag and toss to coat.
2. Heat olive oil and brown chicken for 8 minutes (5 minutes first side, 3 minutes second side). Transfer chicken to a plate.
3. Cook onion in skillet for 5 minutes.
4. Add cinnamon, ginger, cumin cayenne pepper and 2 teaspoons kosher salt to a dish and mix.
5. Add garlic and seasonings to onion and cook 45 seconds.
6. Stir in tomato puree, apricot jam, and 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt. Stir.
7. Add chicken and juices that were collected on the plate back into the skillet. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.
8. Stir in green peppers, berries, apricots and garbanzo beans. Cook for 15 minutes, until peppers are softened.
9. Garnish with slivered almonds and parsley.

Enjoy!

Until next time, Kris