This Moroccan Chicken recipe is inspired from one of my first cookbooks ever, College Cooking: Feed Yourself and Your Friends by Megan & Jill Carle. The book was a really great way to start cooking because the recipes require minimal special tools, use inexpensive ingredients, and they have a whole chapter devoted to “food for the masses,” so you can feed your family or have this for dinner yourself with enough left over for a week’s worth of brown bag lunches. Many of the recipes in the book centre around refined carbohydrates so I’ve moved away from using it a bit, but this healthy recipe isn’t going anywhere.

When I first started cooking for myself I never bothered with fresh herbs, and even omitted them from this the first few times I made this. The addition of the fresh parsley and lemon squeezed at the end though is a real game changer – don’t leave them out! I couldn’t imagine not using lots of fresh herbs now when I cook. Its such a simple way to make a big impact. I’ve tweaked the recipe a bit, and at this point I don’t even use a recipe anymore. I love the flavor combinations of of cinnamon and curry with the raisins, and this is another meal without starches or simple carbs that is still incredibly satisfying. Its always a big hit.

Moroccan Chicken

Ingredients

2 large red onions (cut into 2 cm pieces)
3 red peppers (cut into 2cm pieces)
6 cloves garlic (minced)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 cups chicken stock
4 (14oz) cans diced tomatoes
2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 (5oz) can black olives
1 1/2 cups raisins
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped parsley

Instructions

Fry the peppers and onion in the olive oil over medium-high heat for 5 minutes.
Add the garlic, curry powder, cinnamon, slat and pepper and cook 1 minute more.
Add the chicken stock and tomatoes (with juice) and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat to medium, cover and cook for 10 minutes.
Add the chicken, olives, and raisins to the pot. Cover and cook for 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through.
Remove from heat and add lemon juice and fresh parsley.

Serve alone or over cooked quinoa.