Moroccan Chickpeas With Carrot And Dates Recipes

MOROCCAN CARROT & CHICKPEA SALAD

Steps:

• In a large bowl (large enough to mix the entire salad), whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing.
• To the dressing, add all of the ingredients for the salad and toss well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to a few hours. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary (you might need more salt, lemon or honey, depending on the sweetness of the carrots). Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with more fresh chopped herbs. Serve cold.
• Note: To toast the almonds, preheat the oven to 350°F. Place the almonds on a foil-lined baking sheet for easy clean-up. Bake for about 5 minutes, until the almonds are golden.

MOROCCAN CHICKPEAS WITH CARROT AND DATES

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 180°C.
• Spread the almonds over a baking tray. Bake in oven for 4 minutes or until toasted. Transfer to a heatproof bowl. (You can also toast these in the microwave if preferred).
• Heat oil in a deep frypan or wok over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and carrot, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until the onion is soft. Add the cumin, ginger and turmeric, and stir to coat and toast the spices.
• Add the stock and tomatoes. Bring to the boil. Add the chickpeas and dates. Simmer until the sauce thickens to desired consistency and carrots are cooked, about 10-15 minutes.
• Roll up the spinach leaves and slice finely, and add to the tagine, allowing it to wilt. Stir in the honey and lemon juice/citric acid. Season with salt and pepper as required.
• Divide the tagine among the serving dishes (on cous cous if desired). Sprinkle with almonds and cinnamon. Top with coriander to serve.

MOROCCAN TAGINE WITH CHICKEN AND DATES

Steps:

• For sugared walnuts: Melt 1 T butter in a small saucepan and cook the walnuts over low heat until they are a shade darker and fragrant. Set aside to cool. When cool, remove from the pan into a bowl (leaving behind any remaining butter) and toss with the 1 T sugar. Set aside.
• In the tagine cooking vessel (or a broad saucepan with a cover, large enough to comfortably fit all 4 chicken thighs at once), heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and sear until just golden brown, but not cooked through. Set them aside. The thighs will have rendered some fat; remove enough fat to leave only 1 T fat in the pan. Lower the heat to medium and saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic, cumin, coriander, cayenne, cinnamon, and ginger and continue to saute until the garlic is softened and the spices are toasted, about 2 minutes.
• Add the cider, chicken broth, and honey and bring to a boil. (Note: If you are using a tagine cooking vessel, add only half the liquid to begin with, then add the remaining liquid halfway through cooking time. Generally, a tagine is not large enough to accommodate all the cooking liquid at once.).
• Boil the liquid for about 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced slightly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To the broth mixture, add the sweet potato, half of the chickpeas and half of the dates. Nestle the chicken thighs in the pan and toss the remaining dates and chickpeas over the top. Cover the vessel and place it in the 375-degree oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour, until the sweet potato and chicken thighs are cooked though. (Note: If you are using a regular pan, baste the dish every 15 minutes or so. If using a tagine, add the second half of the cooking liquid halfway through cooking time, when some liquid has steamed away).
• When cooked, remove from the oven and taste for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or honey as desired. Serve over cous-cous with sugared walnuts and yogurt on the side. (Note: for extra richness, you can stir 1 T butter into the broth until melted and the broth is shiny).