Moroccan Chicken With Olives

I have to give another shout-out to my gal-pal Bethany on this one, who posted about this “easy Moroccan week-night chicken dish.” I don’t know that I’d quite call it “easy” because it included about a dozen spices, but once you get the ingredients in, it’s pretty low-maintenance. And oh, how lovely those Moroccan flavors are – the red pepper, lemon and salty green olives. Warmth of cinnamon, heat of the ginger, perfume of coriander and that distinctive tinge of Spanish saffron.

All soaking through the tender, swollen pearls of Israeli couscous.

Like, Bethany, I used a fresh lemon instead of preserved (just couldn’t find it). We also had unpitted olives. Next time, I would like to remove the pits because it’s a bit of a bummer to have to bite around them.

Adapted from “My Fake Food Blog” and Food52…

Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons canola oil
• 2.5 pounds chicken thighs (I used bone-in, skin-on)
• Kosher salt
• Black pepper
• 1 ½ cup small diced onion
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger (I used ground, because didn’t have fresh)
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoon paprika
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 2 c. chicken stock
• ¼ teaspoon saffron
• ½ cup green olives, rinsed
• 2 preserved lemons, pulp removed; rind cut into strips (or zest and juice of 1-2 lemons)
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large, deep skillet or over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Place them in the skillet in batches and brown on all sides. Make sure the skins are nice and crispy, like a pork rind. Remove the chicken and place on a plate.

Add the onion to the skillet and cook until slightly softened. Add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper and stir together. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Pour the chicken stock into the skillet so that 2/3 of the chicken is submerged. Add the saffron and stir to combine. Bring liquid to a simmer, cover the skillet and simmer on medium low heat 20 minutes. Add the olives and lemons. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and turn the heat to high. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until sauce reduces slightly. Stir in the cilantro. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Serve chicken and sauce on a bed of couscous. Garnish with cilantro.

Enjoy, friends! xoxo

Jalapeno-garlic shrimp with mango salsa

I eat shrimp fairly often, yet I haven’t posted about this seafood in a while. Shrimp are the answer to my favorite spring/summer culinary question: What can I make that is fresh and quick? I recently applied this answer to a Martha Stewart recipe that includes a light marinade for shrimp perfect with rice, tacos or over a simple salad.

I paired this mildly spicy shrimp with soy-sesame seared green onions, rice and mango salsa (easy enough to make, but I let Whole Foods do the work for me). I love the combination of shrimp and tropical fruit.

Jalapeno-garlic shrimp

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. shrimp, 15 count, peeled and deveined
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely shopped
• 1 T fresh lime juice (1 lime)
• 3 T EVOO
• Coarse salt and black pepper
• Chopped cilantro

Toss together shrimp, garlic, jalapeno, lime juice, 1 T EVOO. Season with salt and pepper. Marinade in fridge for 45 min., or while you are getting the rice started.

(Meanwhile, for the seared onions, heat nonstick skillet over medium-high, add 1 tsp EVOO, then 3-4 green onions, searing until caramelized. Off the heat, add 1 tsp. soy sauce and 1/4 tsp toasted sesame oil…done!)

Heat 2 T oil in large skillet over medium-high (I just wiped out the green-onion pan). Pour shrimp mixture into skillet and cook through, about 4 min. total. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

To serve, spoon rice on plate, then add shrimp, salsa and finish with green onion ribbons. Leftovers are great the next night!

Enjoy, friends! xoxo