Monday, December 12, 2011

Yet another fabu Moroccan chicken recipe, this one roasted with vegetables

A little trendlet is in the making, what with two Moroccan chicken recipes in a row.  Despite their place names, the dishes themselves are quite different.  The Braised Moroccan chicken with preserved lemons and green olives is prettier, but the curried Moroccan chicken and vegetable roast includes vegetables, thereby eliminating the necessity for a separate side dish.  So here's what I did.

First off, I shamelessly borrowed Amy Rudnick's recipe for the curried Moroccan chicken and vegetable roast.  Could it have been simpler?  A big fat NO.  Could it have been more delicious?  Another big fat NO.  Could it have been healtheir  Yet another big fat NO.  Kind of your all-round go-to easy recipe when you're in a hurry but still want to impress.

So here goes.
1 lb butternut squash, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 lb brussels sprouts, halved
1 large red onion, cut into thin wedges
½ cup canola or olive oil, divided
½ cup plain Greek yogurt
1 T minced fresh ginger
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 + ½ tsp Madras curry powder
6 skinless, boneless chicken thighs

Preheat oven to 450.
Toss the squash, brussels sprouts, onions in ¼ cup of oil. Season with S & P.
Spread the vegetables on a rimmed baking sheet.
In a bowl, combine the yogurt with the ginger, garlic, curry powder and remaining ¼ cup of oil. Season with
S & P. Add the chicken and toss until thoroughly coated. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables.
Roast for 40 minutes. Pour off any accumulated liquid and continue roasting for another 10 to 20 minutes until vegetables are tender and chicken is browned.
Serve with rice or Israeli couscous, which worked brilliantly for me.

For what it's worth, the pan looks pretty with squash offering an orange element, the Brussels Sprouts a green contribution, the red onion thrown in for fun and games, and the chicken getting nice the brown so set off everything appealingly,

People say the dish begs to be served with rice,  Heartlessly I ignored the rice and went with Israeli couscous instead.  I prefer the couscous.  Others may prefer the couscous,  Whatever.  Won't make a difference so don't worry.

Along with the chicken and vegetables, I served a sweet salad with sliced cherry tomatoes, slicedArenian cukes, and diced celery.  A nice vinaigrette perked the veggies up, making the guests smile.  Dessert was a mint panna cotta with fruit on top.  Pretty darned wonderful, they all said, although I retain a preferece for the basil, which had made the its panna cotta so outstanding.  Lesson learned.  Don't use mint when basil's so much better.

So now we're fixed for Moroccan chicken recipes for a while.  Upward and onward to different menus.  Let us hear from you. 

No comments:

Post a Comment