Moroccan Chicken and Bulk Barn

Hi blog readers! I'm so sorry I've been so absent lately! With the new job and the new place, blogging has seemed to fall to the bottom of the pile. I'm finding it awesome being in our own place but I am surprised how unmotivated I am (sometimes) to cook. As you all know, I love to cook but it's hard when you don't have a family to cook for. And since Jean's at work most weeknights, I find it hard to make a big meal for just me.

I've still been taking lots of pictures though of the meals I do make so I have some in my back pocket that I just need to post.

One tip for this meal (and others), especially when you live on your own or just with two people is to buy your ingredients at Bulk Barn. This one calls for dates, dried apricots and a whole bunch of random spices and I don't know about you but if it were me, I'd spend a bunch of money on a bag and then it would sit in my pantry forever and never get eaten.

Trust me, this recipe sounds weird but it was insanely delicious, especially if you're into the whole sweet and salty thing (we are SUPER into the sweet and salty balance in food).

I served this dish with couscous.


This recipe is from Chef Michael Smith's show on the Food Network.

What you will need:

For the spice mix (called Ras-el-Hanout):
1 tbsp caraway seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp cardamom pods
3 tbsps cinnamon
pinch of cayenne pepper

For the dish (Tagine):
1 pkg chicken thighs
8 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
1 cup dried apricots
1 cup dates, pitted (they'll likely come pitted if you get them at Bulk Barn)
3 onions, sliced
3 tbsps almond butter (got this from Bulk Barn too)
pinch of saffron threads
1 tsp turmeric
s&p
1/4 cup cilantro leaves.
Box of couscous (to serve over)

For the Ras-el-Hanout Spice Mix:

Grind together in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle, and store in an airtight container. You may also mix the same spices pre-ground.

Put 3 tbsp of ras-el-hanout in a food processor with garlic cloves and olive oil and puree to a smooth paste.

Place chicken thighs in a freezer bag with the paste, mix well and place in the refrigerator to marinate for a minimum of 1 hour.

Place the marinated chicken into a large pot along with dried apricots, dates, onions, almond butter, saffron, turmeric, salt and pepper. 

Pour in enough water to just cover everything, put a tight fitting lid on the pot and place over medium-high heat. Simmer for 2 hours, until the chicken legs are tender and the liquid has thickened. 

At this point, I removed the chicken with a slotted spoon and used a hand blender to make the sauce a bit smoother. Then, I added the chicken back in.

To make the couscous, I just followed the directions on the package and then added currants and cilantro.

It's not the prettiest dish but it was absolutely delicious!