Moroccan Stuffed Chicken Recipes

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND SQUASH

Steps:

• Combine the squash, turnip, leek and raisins in a 6-quart slow cooker. Season the chicken with salt and pepper and place on top of the vegetables.
• Whisk the chicken broth, tomato paste, cumin, coriander, turmeric, lemon zest and juice, and 1 teaspoon salt in a large bowl. Pour the mixture over the chicken and vegetables. Cover and cook on high, 4 hours.
• Serve the chicken and vegetables with couscous; drizzle with some of the cooking liquid. Top with cilantro.

MOROCCAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 375 °F.
• Place ¼ cup of couscous and 1 teaspoon of Ras el Hanout in a small heatproof bowl. Pour ¼ cup of hot water over the couscous. Cover and set to one side for around five minutes.
• Fluff up the couscous grains using a fork. Mix in 8 chopped apricots, 2 tablespoons of pine nuts and a small chopped bunch of flat-leaf parsley.
• Slice into each chicken breast using a sharp paring knife to make a pocket.
• Divide the couscous filling between each chicken breast.
• Arrange the chicken breasts in a baking pan. Brush each chicken breast with ½ a tablespoon of oil and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes until the meat is cooked through.
• Serve with a crisp green salad and some roasted baby potatoes.

MOROCCAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Put the couscous and spice mix in a small heatproof bowl and pour over 50ml hot water. Cover and set aside for 5 mins. Fluff the grains up with a fork, then stir in the apricots, pine nuts and parsley. Season with salt and pepper.
• Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Make a large slit down one side of each chicken breast to form a pocket. Stuff the couscous mixture inside, then sit the chicken in a small roasting tin. Brush over the oil and roast for 20 mins until cooked through. Serve with roasted baby new potatoes and a crisp green salad.

MOROCCAN STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a deep saute pan over med-high heat. Salt and pepper the chicken place it in the pan. Cook chicken for 2-3 minutes each side until browned. Add zucchini and continue cooking, stirring occasionally.
• When the zucchini begin to brown add the garbanzo beans, water, tomatoes, cayenne, cumin, and cinnamon. Lower the heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is tender and cooked through. (do not cover the pan).
• Season to taste with more salt and pepper and sprinkle with cilantro.
• Serve with steamed rice, or couscous.

MOROCCAN STEAMED CHICKEN WITH SPINACH AND CHERMOULA STUFFING

Steps:

• Brine the chicken ahead of time and pat dry. Season with salt.
• Make 1 1/2 cups chermoula if you haven't already. Stir in harissa to taste, then measure out 1/2 cup and set aside the remaining chermoula for the stuffing.
• Add the finely chopped preserved lemon pulp to the 1/2 cup of chermoula. Generously rub the mixture inside the chicken's cavity as well as under and above the skin.
• Parboil the rice in boiling salted water for about 10 min. Drain and set aside to cool.
• Steam the chopped spinach (or chard, purslane, mallow) in a couscoussier (or other large steamer) over hot boiling water. Don't worry about fitting all that pile into the couscoussier; the greens will shrink as they steam so you can add more progressively.
• When the greens are wilted, set them aside to cool then squeeze out the excess liquid.
• In a saucepan or frying pan, slightly saute the chermoula for a minute, then stir in the chopped spinach and all the other ingredients. Fold in the rice, stir and set aside.
• Stuff the chicken's cavity from the bottom then from the neck to ensure it's properly filled. Leftover filling can be inserted carefully under the skin by the neck and thighs. Seal the cavity with a toothpick (or truss the chicken for a better finish).
• Depending on the size of your steamer or couscoussier, steam the chicken one after the other or together at the same time. It usually takes about 1 hour. It is advised to turn the chicken halfway through steaming to ensure it's cooked properly. I suggest you start by placing the chicken breast side down.
• Just before serving, brush the chickens with butter or olive oil. Roast the chickens from both sides for about 20-30 minutes at 400 F/200 C until they look nicely golden.
• If you plan to serve this dish without the roasting step, begin steaming the vegetables halfway through cooking the chicken. Either use another steamer for the vegetables or lift the chicken, scatter the vegetables (mixed or in separate piles) and place the birds back. Carry on steaming as per previous guideline. (The vegetables can be seasoned in this step, unless you want to saute them in butter later on.)
• Alternatively, you can boil the vegetables separately in salted water. Make sure to not to let them get mushy as we still need to season and saute them in butter.
• Heat the butter, mix in the other ingredients (cumin, parsley etc). Fold in the vegetables and delicately stir. Knock off the heat and set aside, covered. Keep warm.
• Place the chickens in the middle of a large serving dish and scatter the vegetables around. Serve hot or warm.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN STUFFED PEPPERS

Steps:

• Cook bulgur according to your package directions. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Heat a large saucepan over medium heat. Add olive oil, and when hot add onion and garlic. Cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
• Add ground chicken. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, for about until browned, about 5 minutes.
• Stir in cinnamon, cumin, and harissa spice, stirring until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
• Remove from heat and stir in bulgur, grated zucchini, mint, one cup of the chicken stock and lemon juice.
• Taste and add salt and pepper.
• Preheat oven to 400°
• Cut peppers in half lengthwise and remove seeds.
• Fill each pepper half with the chicken mixture, mounding over the tops, and place in a shallow oven-safe baking dish or skillet.
• Pour the remaining one cup of chicken stock around the stuffed peppers, and cover with foil.
• Bake for one hour, then remove the foil and bake uncovered, a further 15 minutes.
• Garnish with parsley and serve hot.

MOROCCAN-STYLE STUFFED ACORN SQUASH

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Arrange squash halves cut side down on a baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes, or until tender. Dissolve the sugar in the melted butter. Brush squash with the butter mixture, and keep squash warm while preparing the stuffing.
• Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in the garlic, celery, and carrots, and cook 5 minutes. Mix in the garbanzo beans and raisins. Season with cumin, salt, and pepper, and continue to cook and stir until vegetables are tender.
• Pour the chicken broth into the skillet, and mix in the couscous. Cover skillet, and turn off heat. Allow couscous to absorb liquid for 5 minutes. Stuff squash halves with the skillet mixture to serve.

MOROCCAN ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Make a spice rub for the chicken from the ginger, turmeric, garlic, cilantro, olive oil, and lemon juice.
• Gently lift and loosen the skin of the chicken from the breast and leg meat, leaving the skin intact. Spoon most of the spice mixture under the skin, and rub the spices over the meat, taking care to reach the leg.
• Turn the chicken over, and loosen the skin from the back of the chicken. Add the remaining spice rub to the back meat, reaching to the legs if possible.
• Salt and pepper the cavity of the chicken, truss the legs and rub a little olive oil on the outside of the chicken. Transfer the chicken to a glass or plastic bowl, cover tightly, and refrigerate overnight.
• Set aside the saffron. Slice the onions as thinly as possible. Place the onions, garlic, remaining spices, cilantro, oil and smen in a heavy-bottomed shallow stock pot or Dutch oven . Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally for an hour or until the onions are soft and can easily be mashed with a spoon or vegetable masher. Avoid burning the onions, and add a little oil or water if necessary to prevent the onions from sticking.
• Mash the onions and continue cooking, uncovered, until the onions are reduced to a thick blended mass sitting in the oil. How long this takes will depend on how moist the onions were, how thinly you sliced them, and how wide your pot is.
• When the onions are a unified mass, stir in the saffron and remove the onions from the heat. At this point, the sauce can be cooled and refrigerated overnight.
• Transfer the chicken to an oiled shallow roasting pan, allow the chicken to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven 325 F/160 C.
• Roast the chicken uncovered, basting occasionally and rotating the pan halfway through cooking, for 2 to 3 hours, or until the skin is golden brown and the leg can be moved easily in its joint.
• Transfer the cooked chicken to a serving plate, or hold warm in the turned off oven.
• Pour the juices from the roasting pan into the onion sauce mixture, stirring to blend. Add the preserved lemon and olives, 2 or 3 tablespoons of water as needed and simmer the sauce over medium heat for about 10 minutes, or until well-blended and the sauce is thick.
• Pour the sauce onto the serving platter, spooning a little sauce and olives over the chicken. Garnish the chicken with some of the preserved lemons, and serve immediately with Moroccan bread ( khobz ) for scooping up the chicken and sauce.

MOROCCAN STUFFED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Rub your chicken with Robertsons Chicken Spice and Robertsons Spices. Make sure every part of the chicken is covered.
• Place the whole chicken in a plastic bag and allow time for it to absorb all those flavours for an hour or overnight in the fridge.
• Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C before you make the stuffing. In a blender, place your bread crumbs, apricots, Robertsons Spices, garlic cloves, chunks of onions, parsley, Dijon mustard and lemon juice, and then blitz.
• Remove your chicken from the plastic bag and stuff with your Moroccan stuffing.
• Tie the legs together and hide the wings under the chicken, because they cook the quickest and you don't want them to burn. Place it in the oven and allow to cook for 30 minutes per 500 grams.
• To plate- Layer the couscous first, then your beautiful roasted chicken. Garnish with salad, dressing and micro herbs.
• In a very hot griddle pan, toast your pine nuts until they are a beautiful toasted brown colour, then set aside.
• In a hot pan, add butter, then carrots and cook until they get slightly charred. Next, drizzle carrots with honey and toss.
• Remove the carrots and plate by sprinkling the pine nuts and garnish with fresh mint.
• Place the couscous in boiling hot water, let the water soak that up, remove from the heat and allow the couscous to absorb the water ensuring you don't overcook it.
• Finish off with butter and season with salt and pepper.
• For the salad- on a big plate, place your rocket, then fennel and orange segments. Garnish with the slices of radish and lastly drizzle with the vinaigrette dressing.
• For the salad dressing- in a bowl, add the wholegrain mustard, lemon juice and rice wine vinegar. Mix together and slowly add the olive oil as you stir. Season with salt and pepper.