Moroccan Spiced Chicken And Fennel Recipes

MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Combine spices with pepper and 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Season chicken to coat both sides.
• Preheat large nonstick skillet, add olive oil. Cook chicken breasts about 5 minutes each side. Remove chicken and keep warm.
• Add the fennel and onions to the pan and saute for 7 mnutes or so. The fennel should be tender but not mushy. If the pan appears to be too dry, add a tablespoon of water. Should be enough to moisten without steaming the vegetables.
• Boil two cups of water with 1/4 teaspoon of salt. Add couscous to water and turn off heat. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Fluff the grains before serving.
• Add juice, broth and the last 1/4 teasppon salt and bring to a boil for about 1 minute. Add constarch mixed in 1 tablespoon of water. Stir until it just begins to thicken, about 2-3 minutes.
• Add chicken and chopped fennel , cook 2 more minutes.
• Spoon coucous onto plate, with chicken and fennel and onions. Spoon portion of sauce on top.

RAS EL-HANOUT, MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the Ras al-hanout spice mixture: Combine the cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves in a small bowl.
• Thoroughly pat the chicken dry and dredge in the ras al-hanout spices until pieces are nicely covered but not over-loaded. Place in a bowl or large dish and scatter thyme and garlic over the chicken. Pour 1/2 C olive oil over and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight if possible, or several hours.
• Remove marinated chicken and place on counter for 30 minutes. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the dish, keeping the marinade, and brown chicken on all sides in the hot oil. (Do not rush this as the browning will help keep the chicken from feeling "dusty" from the spice mix covering it. This is also why you do not want to over-load the chicken with the spice mix.)
• Set the chicken aside and add the onion to the Dutch oven, cook until translucent.
• Return the chicken to the Dutch oven, adding the lemon and the reserved marinade. Sprinkle generously with salt. Add enough broth to almost cover the chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken has begun to pull away from the bones and is quite tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid the last 15 minutes of cooking time to reduce the broth. If it needs to reduce further, remove the chicken and boil the broth until nicely reduced to approximately 2 cups, but you can reduce it less if you want more sauce. You can thicken the sauce with cornstarch mixed with water.
• Serve with white rice or other grain of choice.

CHICKEN AND FENNEL

Steps:

• Mix the turmeric, pepper and salt into the olive oil. Brush about half of this mixture over the chicken fillets.
• Saute chicken gently for about 30 minutes Do not cover - turn the fillets occasionally.
• Trim and clean the fennel bulbs. Cut into 4 pieces each.
• Arrange fennel pieces in the pan with the chicken. Add about one third of the water. Brush with the remaining oil mixture.
• Cover the pan and stew slowly for about an hour or until the fennel is soft. During this time add more water only if necessary. The covered pan should generate enough of its own moisture.

ROASTED MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400°F
• Pat chicken dry and rub with flattened garlic cloves; place garlic in cavity. Squeeze lemon into small bowl; place lemon in cavity.
• Brush chicken with half of juice.
• Mix spices and salt and rub over and inside chicken.
• Tie legs together. Heat oil in large ovenproof skillet.
• Add chicken, breast side up. Add remaining lemon juice to skillet. Baste
• chicken withpan juices. Transfer to oven, and bake until juices run clear.
• Baste occasionally. Roast about 1 hour -- .