Moroccan Chicken

I make this Moroccan style chicken stew with middle eastern spices and dried fruit and olives.  I make it differently every time I cook it.  I use apricots or raisins or prunes, sometimes a mix  - and I usually use chick peas - and some variety of olive.  I typically use a can of chopped or stewed tomato as the base for the stew.  Kevin and Derick came over for dinner Wednesday night and I wanted a sleeker, simpler version - Moroccan Chicken is one of Kevin's favs.  I wanted a small ensemble cast, featuring: a beautiful green olive, plump prunes and the chicken.  I opted out on the chick peas and the whole can of chopped tomatoes - instead I just used a dollop of tomato paste, half a box of chicken broth and (for the first time ever) chicken thighs.  Thighs are so rich and delicious - I knew their juice would enrich the sauce and would be a super star dinner.  Since we were having friends over - I decided to go all out and make a little crostini, a nice big arugula salad and even a mini pistachio hot fudge sundae for desert!  It took about an hour - and with a one pot main course - it was super easy.  Here's how to make it...

Moroccan Chicken with Couscous
8 chicken thighs
1 tub of whole green olives (get the nice ones)
couple handfuls of the bite size prunes
1/2 onion, chopped
1 large clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 to 3/4 carton of chicken stock (use the nice stuff)
1 spoonful tomato paste
1 1/2 cups couscous
1 1/2 cups water
1 tablespoon garam masala (an Indian/ middle eastern spice blend)
oil
salt
pep

Stew:
Season your thighs with salt, pepper and 1/2 of the garam masala.  Sear the thighs in a big stew pot over high heat in a little bit of olive oil.  Brown the thighs on both sides until golden brown, but not cooked through.  1-2 minutes per side.  Scoop them out and set them aside.  Get your onion and garlic in the pan (add another drop of oil if the pan is dry) and cook until softened.  Plop in a spoonful of tomato paste, the prunes and the olive and fry the tomato paste for a bit to brown it up - the paste has a raw taste otherwise.  Deglaze with your chicken stock and stick your thighs back in.  Cover, reduce the heat to med-low and simmer for 30 minutes. 

Cous Cous:
Put your cous in a bowl.  Boil your water and pour over your cous.  Cover the bowl with a lid or plate or whatever you have that will seal in the steam.  Set for 5-10 minutes.  Fluff with a fork before serving.

Serve all up on a platter and go to town.  Serve along side a salad of arugula and fennel and start off with artichoke crostini - finish with pistachio sundae.  I'll tell you how to make those in another post.  ;)  ENJOY, we did!