blue artichoke

Last night I made Moroccan food, as part of this endeavor to expand our palettes. We rarely get visitors at Chez Artichoke, but last night several people stopped by on various errands and all remarked on how good it smelled in the house. It's true. It smelled awesome in here. Like roasting meat and spices. I made a Moroccan chicken tagine with chickpeas and apricots using my Dutch oven. Traditionally, a tagine is made in a special earthenware vessel also called a tagine. I don't cook Moroccan food enough to warrant purchasing special equipment, especially when a Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid works just as well. On the side, I made Moroccan-spiced vegetables with couscous. I used Israeli couscous, which looks more like tapioca than the finer-grained and fluffier Moroccan couscous; it was what I had in the cupboard, so I used it, now back off!

Here are the recipes, in case anyone else wants their house or apartment to smell as good as mine did last night:

Moroccan Chicken with Chickpeas and Apricots

Recipe from Cook’s Illustrated

Bone-in chicken parts can be substituted for the whole chicken. For best results, use four chicken thighs and two chicken breasts, each breast split in half; the dark meat contributes valuable flavor to the broth and should not be omitted. Use a vegetable peeler to remove wide strips of zest from the lemon before juicing it. Make sure to trim any white pith from the zest, as it can impart bitter flavor.

1 ¼ teaspoons sweet paprika
½ teaspoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 strips lemon zest (each about 2 inches by 3/4 inch) (I subbed ~ 3 T. dried ground lemon peel)
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 to 2 lemons
5 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons)
1 whole chicken (3 1/2 to 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces (4 breast pieces, 2 thighs, 2 drumsticks; wings reserved for another use) and trimmed of excess fat (I bought a packaged already cut-up chicken. It was the same price as a whole chicken, but cut out all the work of cutting up the chicken myself.)
Table salt and ground black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices (about 3 cups)
1 ¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 medium carrot, peeled and cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick coins, very large pieces cut into half-moons (about 1 cup) (I subbed a large handful of baby carrots, sliced in half lengthwise)
1 cup dried apricots, halved
1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. Combine spices in small bowl and set aside. Mince 1 strip lemon zest; combine with 1 teaspoon minced garlic and mince together until reduced to fine paste; set aside.

2. Season both sides of chicken pieces liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy--bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, turn chicken pieces and brown on second side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer chicken to large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot.

3. Add onion and 2 remaining lemon zest strips to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions have browned at edges but still retain shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add 1 tablespoon water if pan gets too dark). Add remaining 4 teaspoons garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring constantly, until darkened and very fragrant, 45 seconds to 1 minute. Stir in broth and honey, scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits. Add thighs and drumsticks, reduce heat to medium, and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add carrots, apricots, and breast pieces (with any accumulated juices) to pot, arranging breast pieces in single layer on top of carrots. Cover; reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of breast registers 160 degrees, 10 to 15 minutes.

5. Transfer chicken to plate or bowl and tent with foil. Add chickpeas to pot; increase heat to medium-high and simmer until liquid has thickened slightly and carrots are tender, 4 to 6 minutes. Return chicken to pot and add garlic-zest mixture, cilantro, and lemon juice; stir to combine and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Moroccan-Spiced Veggies and Couscous

1 T. olive or veggie oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 c. frozen cut leaf spinach, thawed and squeezed to drain
½ c. raisins
1 t. cumin
½ t. cinnamon
½ t. salt
1 (14 ½ oz.) can chicken broth*
1 (23 oz.) can sweet potatoes, cut into pieces
1 c. uncooked couscous*

Heat oil in 10” skillet over med-high heat. Cook onion and garlic in oil 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until onion is tender.

Stir in remaining ingredients* except sweet potatoes and couscous; mix well. Add the sweet potatoes and heat to boiling. (If desired, stir in 1 large tomato, chopped).

Stir in couscous; remove from heat. Cover and let stand ~5 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.

*If using Israeli couscous, reduce liquid to ~1 cup chicken broth. Cook the couscous separately in water as directed on the package. Drain; stir into sweet potato mixture, mixing well. Cook until thoroughly heated and liquid has been absorbed.

NB: Can be served as a main dish with pita bread and plain yogurt mixed with chopped cucumber.

Serves 4.