Creative Meals for Today's Cook

One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice

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  One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice - a ton of flavor and minimal clean-up. Neither of my parents have been to the San Francisco Bay Area. So when they came out for a visit to see our new home, I took them on a whirlwind tour of the area. One week barely scratches the surface of things to do, but Mr. HapaNom and I were able to get a good deal of activities in for their first trip. We went to Japantown, Chinatown, Napa, the Presidio, the Golden Gate Bridge, you get the idea. You always want your guests to have a good time and enjoy your home as much as you do, especially when it’s your parents. I can happily report that they had a great time! 🙂

Moroccan Chicken with Apricot Couscous - warm spices and big flavors!

Moroccan Chicken with Apricot Couscous

We ate out a lot, taking my parents to our favorite spots. But there were a few nights when we ate in. One evening I decided to make one of my favorite meals, Moroccan Chicken with Apricot Couscous. It’s easy to make, always a crowd pleaser, and it fills the entire house with the most magnificent aromas! I was in the middle of searing the chicken thighs when I realized that I didn’t have any couscous! What?! I swear I just had 2 large boxes! Ok, so plan B. Rice. I always have rice. I was just going to make the rice separately and serve it along with the Moroccan chicken. Then I remembered one of my favorite recipes from my friend and fellow food blogger, Nagi of RecipeTin Eats. She makes a fabulous One Pot Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice dish where she cooks the rice in the same pot as the chicken, soaking up all of those wonderful juices and flavors. I applied that same method this Moroccan inspired dish and it was a huge hit! Every bite was packed with incredible flavor! One pot meals are always great! After a long day it’s a dish that’s easy to prepare, leaves minimal clean-up, and it’s so satisfying. One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice - a ton of flavor and minimal clean-up.

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One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice
Author: 
Recipe type: Entree
Cuisine: Moroccan
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Serves: 4- 5 people
 
One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice - a ton of flavor and minimal clean-up.
Ingredients
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • ¼ tsp whole black peppercorns
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • ¼ tsp red pepper flakes (or less, if you like less heat)
  • ¼ tsp whole cloves
  • 5 Tbs extra-virgin olive oil, divided
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced
  • 1 handful fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
  • 1 large pinch saffron
  • Kosher salt
  • a pinch of black pepper, freshly ground
  • 5 chicken thighs, bone in, skin on
  • 1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
  • 1 cup long grain rice
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 large lemon, zest and juice
  • ½ cup Kalamata olives
  • 2 cups good quality unsalted chicken stock
  • 1 lemon for garnish, optional
Instructions
  1. In a heavy-bottomed pot or pan over medium heat, toast the first 6 ingredients until they start to smoke. Remove from heat and grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder or coffee grinder.*
  2. In a large bowl, add 3 tablespoons of oil, spice mix, garlic, ginger, cilantro, saffron, ¾ teaspoon salt and pepper. Mix to a paste. Add the chicken, rubbing the marinade over all the pieces. Cover and refrigerate for two hours to overnight.
  3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
  4. Place the oven-safe heavy-bottomed skillet or pot with a tight fitting lid over medium-high heat. Add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Place the chicken skin side down and brown, approximately 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside. Pour off the fat and wipe the pan clean with a paper towel. Warm a tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat and add the onions. Cook until softened, about 3 minutes.
  5. Add the rice and stir to coat. Add the bay leaves, lemon juice, lemon zest, olives, chicken stock, and a pinch of salt. Bring the contents to a boil, turn off the heat, and place the chicken on top of the rice. Cover tightly with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid, and allow the excess liquid to cook off while in the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove bay leaves and discard. Taste and season to taste, if needed. Serve with sliced lemon and enjoy!
Notes
* Using whole spices is ideal for toasting and it amps up the spices flavor. But if you don't have a coffee or spice grinder - you can toast already ground spices. One cinnamon stick equals approximately 1 teaspoon.

 

One Pot Moroccan Chicken and Rice - a ton of flavor and minimal clean-up.

Comments

  1. It’s in the oven, excited to try it! A friend shared it on FB and I liked the ingredients so making it for my family. Guess I should have read the instructions tho as I didn’t catch the marinating time until 1hrs before I was making it. Also, prep took me about 1 hrs instead of 10 min. I love cooking tho so it’s all good. Don’t have a spice mill but discovered my Cuban mortar and pestle works just fine to grind spices. Thanks!

    • Thanks so much for the note! You know, I think you’ll still get some nice flavor even with an abbreviated marinating time. To be honest, I forget to marinate all the time, which is why the quick marinating attachment on my FoodSaver has been awesome!
      I’m sorry the prep time took longer than noted. I actually make this fairly regularly, so the next time I make it, I will keep an a eye on the prep time for modification – thanks for letting me know!
      Hope you enjoyed the dish! And thanks so much for writing 🙂

  2. ok. i fell off the holiday-planning path again… i believe i might just have to have this for dinner tomorrow. i am all over the technique you used here. grateful~

    • No worries, I can’t tell you how many times a day I get distracted. I’m like the proverbial dog that’s doing one thing and then omg, squirrel! I’m so glad you like the recipe, I’d love to know what you think.

    • Thanks so much for stopping by, I hope you enjoy the dish! It’s a real hit every time I make it 🙂

  4. NO YOU DINT!!!! This is on my menu plans for next week 🙂 I needed to do something different with my Morroccan chicken recipe too so I was experimenting with Nagi’s one pot recipe…cuz it’s fool proof… and turns out it’s fantastic! It’s going to be a Moroccan chicken one pot meal face off 🙂
    gorgeous as always honey!

  6. Yay for the parents coming for a visit! It is really fun seeing the city through their eyes. I love one pot meals and my iron skillet is one of my favorite tools in the kitchen. Love the robust flavors in this dish with a little lemon cheeks to serve.

    • Yes, exactly! I think seeing the city through their eyes is always so exciting! It’s almost like seeing it all for the first time again 🙂

  7. Kathleen this looks SO good!! Love the idea of a one pot meal (no losing flavours along the way, and no extra dishes – got to be a win-win!), and it looks like there are so many gorgeous flavours going on. Nagi’s recipes are always so good, right?! Your sightseeing in San Francisco sounds amazing too – so envious! It is definitely an area I would love to explore in the near future.

    • That’s one of the things I love most about one pot meal – all that flavors stays right in the pot! I hope you get a chance to come out to SF sometime – if you do, let me know. Maybe I can give you some recommendations 🙂

  8. Kathleen, my mouth is watering! I absolutely love one-pot meals, and this one looks like just the kind of thing I’d love to eat! I love that you implemented Nagi’s idea of cooking the rice in the same pot, I can just imagine how wonderful the flavor of the rice was. My parents actually have a company they founded where they created and sell saffron spray, and I use it allll the time as a marinade for chicken, so I’m excited to see you included saffron here. With the addition of all those lovely spices, I can just imagine swooning (and stuffing my face) over this dish! <3

    • Oh wow, that’s awesome! Saffron spray sounds fabulous! Where are they located? Do they have a website? Saffron is such a wonderful ingredient – in taste and in color!

      • Just saw this Kathleen! They sell their saffron spray mostly in SoCal stores, but I think there might be some up north in the San Jose area and then on the East Coast. But it’s available on Amazon and their website (www.AllNaturalQuest.com). It’s called “Spray ‘N’ Serve® Saffron Spray” 🙂 Let me know if you get a chance to try and what you think! XO

    • Thanks so much! One pot meals are always a favorite of mine because of all of the wonderful flavors that meld together 🙂

  11. How fun to have your parents visiting! I am sure you miss them dearly. My parents are coming next summer. They have been in LA so many times that they have seen pretty much everything. We are now thinking to go somewhere else together, like Yosemite. 🙂

    Oh wow…. Looking amazing, Kathleen! I can almost smell it through the screen! I am imagine the rice soaking up all that tasty juices. Heavenly one pot meal!

    • My parents want to see Yosemite too! Monetary Bay and Big Sur are also high on their list. Oh course my Dad’s side of the family are in the LA area, so we need to make a trip down there as well 🙂

  12. Your photos are always so gorgeous Kathleen! Love Moroccan flavors so much and anything to do with chicken and rice, so this recipe is a keeper. So great that your parents had a wonderful vacation visiting you guys and San Francisco is a beautiful city (you are very lucky to live there). I hear your frustrations with are not having an ingredient once you start cooking. I’ll go to the grocery store for something blog recipe specific and actually leave the store without it! Then I don’t realize I don’t have it until I’m cooking and it’s too late to go back to the store. Sometimes I think if I used my brain at full capacity, I might be dangerous 🙂

    • Thank you so much, Karrie 🙂

      Ha! I had to laugh at your ‘full capacity’ comment! There are times that I have to run to the store 2-3 times a day because I keep forgetting ingredients – sometimes I feel like I’m loosing my mind.

  13. Oh Yay! I knew your parents were coming out to visit you soon! I am sooo thrilled they loved your new home and city! That’s the best feeling, right?! This one pot chicken dish looks incredibly delish, Kathleen! I love Moroccan flavors, but this takes it to a whole new level of YUM! Totally digging how easy it is and the minimal clean up of one pan is something you just can’t beat! Pinned! Cheers, girlfriend! Xo

    • It is always great when your parents love your home/city as much as you do! I just wish they could have stayed longer, it was really nice to have them 🙂 Are your parents still visiting?

    • I had a really nice time with them, thank you. Wow, three years is a long time. I sincerely hope you get to see them very soon, Anu 🙂

  15. I actually got goosebumps looking at the photos. This. Is. A. Winner!!! And then I saw that you got inspiration from my recipe and I just burst into a huge smile! Thank you so much for the mention. 🙂 And I am so glad your parents had such a fab time!!

    PS Did you find out who stole the couscous? 😉

    • Oh of course, Nagi! You’re always an inspiration 🙂

      I have no idea what happened to all of the couscous I had – I don’t remember using it all up. I’m just going to say that the movers must have taken. Yes, that’s it. The movers stole my couscous 😛

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