Moroccan Chicken with Couscous

The other day, I was up in Sacramento for work and I got to stay at my sister and her fiancé’s house for the night. They surprised me with an amazingly delicious home cooked meal! It was so good, so unique, I decided I had to have it again 4 days later, so that Gabe could try it, and I could share with you all on the blog! Now, it does have a lot of ingredients, and does require quite a few steps to prepare. I suggest having someone help with all the prep work, since there’s so many ingredients to get together. I emphasize this because the original blogger, named below, called this a one pot meal, and said it only takes 30 minutes to prepare and cook. Talk about false advertising! However, this dish is worth the extra time and effort. There’s so many different flavors and textures going on, and they all taste so lovely together!

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Total time: 1 hour

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound skinless chicken (I used a mix of thighs and breasts), cut into bite size pieces (For vegetarian swap in 2 more cup cooked chickpeas or your favorite veggies)

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon cumin

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or more to your liking (we did ½ teaspoon and it was spicy!)

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 onion, thinly sliced

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated

2 cloves garlic, minced or grated

1 sweet bell pepper (any color), chopped

3 carrots, chopped

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced

2 cups chicken broth (or veggie broth)

1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 lemon, zest + juice

1/4 cup fresh chopped cilantro, plus more for serving

1 cup dry whole wheat couscous (yields 4 cups cooked)

1/4 cup chopped pistachios

6 medjool dates, pitted and sliced

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

Instructions

In a small bowl or plate mix together the smoked paprika, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper.

Heat a large high-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to coat the bottom of the skillet and once hot add the chicken and half of the seasoning mixture to the skillet. Brown the chicken all over until almost cooked through, about 6-8 minutes. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set aside.

To the same skillet add 1 tablespoon olive oil to pan and swirl to coat. Add the onion, red pepper, carrots, ginger, and garlic to the skillet, sauté 4-6 minutes. Add the remaining spice mixture and sauté another 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Add the chicken back to the skillet. Stir in the chicken broth, chickpeas, tomato paste, and chipotle chile. Bring to a boil and reduce the heat, and simmer 5-10 minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Remove from heat. Stir in the cilantro, lemon zest and juice. To serve, divide the couscous among bowls or plates and sprinkle the couscous with a little bit of the chopped pistachios and dates. Top each plate of couscous with the chicken/chickpea mixture. Sprinkle on the crumbled goat cheese and garnish with chopped pistachios and cilantro.

Recipe inspired by Half Baked Harvest.