Let’s be honest, chicken breast can be a little bit boring. As I stood with the refrigerator door open staring at some chicken breast, I felt uninspired. I remembered seeing a Moroccan recipe some time ago in one of my older cookbooks. It is one of those cookbooks that doesn’t have a particular author, that I found in the bargain bin, however surprisingly it contains a lot of gems. I made tons of changes to the recipe, which called for chickpeas instead of chicken. This recipe has since become one of my family’s favourite chicken recipes.
Remedy for dry chicken: Chicken breast tends to get dry and flavourless very quickly. I like to keep the breasts whole or cut into 2-3 large chunks and I allow them to cook in the sauce. By doing this they retain their moisture and flavour. By removing them from the sauce once they are cooked this also helps to ensure flavours and moisture is locked in. Plus as an added bonus, there’s no need to handle and chop raw chicken. Simply chop the cooked chicken once it has cooled and return it to the pan-no mess, no fuss!
This dish is simple to make and calls for everyday ingredients. You can use chicken thighs in this or chickpeas or even fish (just add the fish towards the end as fish cooks quickly and thus easily overcooks). It is easy to make this ahead as well, and will keep for 3 days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it for up to 2 months or so.
I love harissa. Harissa is a fragrant North African and Middle Eastern spice mix, often in paste form. It is usually made of dried red chillies, garlic, salt, fresh coriander, caraway seeds and olive oil, but it can also contain smoked paprika, cumin and mint. You can purchase it at most grocery stores as I did, as a powdered spice blend, or you can just leave it out and use smoked paprika.
Add olive oil to a large saucepan and turn heat to medium low. Add onions and sauté the onions until softened, about 5 minutes or so. Add all of the spices and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add stock, chicken and carrots and turn up heat to medium high until it comes to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium low and allow chicken to cook through. Once chicken is cooked through (chicken will take about 15 minutes to cook), remove chicken and set aside.
Add zucchini, currants and olives and continue to simmer over medium low heat until carrots and zucchini are tender but not soft or mushy, about another 15 minutes. Chop or tear cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces and return chicken and juices to the pan. Add lemon zest and juice, chopped parsley. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice and top with harissa yogurt sauce.
Whisk yogurt and honey together and mix in the harissa spice. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 4 days or so.
Ingredients
Directions
Add olive oil to a large saucepan and turn heat to medium low. Add onions and sauté the onions until softened, about 5 minutes or so. Add all of the spices and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add stock, chicken and carrots and turn up heat to medium high until it comes to a boil. Immediately reduce heat to medium low and allow chicken to cook through. Once chicken is cooked through (chicken will take about 15 minutes to cook), remove chicken and set aside.
Add zucchini, currants and olives and continue to simmer over medium low heat until carrots and zucchini are tender but not soft or mushy, about another 15 minutes. Chop or tear cooled chicken into bite-sized pieces and return chicken and juices to the pan. Add lemon zest and juice, chopped parsley. Serve over rice or cauliflower rice and top with harissa yogurt sauce.
Whisk yogurt and honey together and mix in the harissa spice. Store in an airtight glass container in the fridge for up to 4 days or so.