We love the spices of Moroccan food and one of our favorite memories of visiting Morocco was going to the market and buying spices to bring home with us. We also bought a tajine while we were in Morocco, but we chose to use a slow cooker for this recipe. Obviously, you can use a Dutch oven or tajine if you prefer. In addition to the spices, this dish also features olives and raisins, which again reminds of our time in Southern Spain as well as Morocco. Especially when cooking with olives, it is important to use high-quality olives whose flavor you really enjoy. We used olives stuffed with pimentos, which just added to the flavor of the dish. The chicken turned out tender and even though there are a lot of spices, it is certainly not a spicy dish. We did the recipe just for the two of us, but it can easily be increased to serve a crowd.
INGREDIENTS
- 2 Large Chicken Thighs
- 1/2 tsp Smoked Paprika
- 1/2 tsp Ground Ginger
- 1/2 tsp Ground Cumin
- 1/2 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric
- 1/4 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp All-Spice
- 1/4 tsp Salt or to taste – but don’t over salt as the olives are salty as well
- 1/8 tsp Fennel Seeds – crushed
- 1 dash of Fresh Nutmeg – about 3 or 4 scrapes of the nutmeg across a micro-plane
- 1/2 Yellow Onion – roughly chopped
- 1 1/2 cloves Garlic – minced
- 1/2 cup Olives Stuffed with Pimentos – cut in half
- 1/4 cup Golden Raisins
- 1/2 Fresh Lemon (or 1 small Lemon) – thinly sliced
- 2 to 3 cups Chicken Stock – just enough to cover the chicken
- Basmati Rice – cooked to the package directions
- Parsley for garnish
INSTRUCTIONS
Mix all of the spices in a small bowl to combine thoroughly. Spray the inside of a slow cooker with non-stick spray. Add the onion and place the chicken thighs on top of the onion. Cover the chicken with the spice mixture, being sure to thoroughly coat the the chicken with the spices. Add the garlic, olives, raisins, lemon, and add the chicken stock just until the chicken is covered. Cook on low for 5 hours, stirring once close to the end of cooking. Serve over Basmati rice.
