Slow Cooking: Moroccan Style

Just so you know, I have the theme from Love: American Style going through my head right now. I thought I should share, if for no other reason than to see who actually remembers that show. Besides my sister, that is. ;o)

But on to the food!

This week we tried a Moroccan chicken stew. It started out in the recipe book as Moroccan Beef Stew, but after the summer fruit attack from the previous week, I wasn’t sure I was ready for beef quite yet.

The recipe is from a Prevention Guide cookbook we got at the grocery store. The same book that gave us the beef carnitas we love so much.

Moroccan Chicken Stew
Adapted from the Prevention Guide Cookbook

6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
4 parsnips, diced
4 carrots, diced
2 small onions, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tbsp cumin seed
2 tsp coriander seed
1 cinnamon stick
½ tsp cracked peppercorns
1 can diced tomatoes, 28 oz.
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
½ cup dry red wine
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground red pepper (cayenne)

In a large, dry non-stick skillet, toast the cumin and coriander seeds until fragrant. Grind the toasted spices and put into crock pot.
Spray the skillet with cooking spray, then brown the chicken thighs on all sides. Add to crock pot.
Spray the skillet again with cooking spray, then sauté the vegetables until slightly soft. Add the tomatoes, broth, wine, tomato paste and flour. Bring to a boil and let thicken slightly. Add to crock pot. Stir to combine. Tuck the cinnamon stick in the crock.
Cook in crock pot on Low for 8 hours.
Turn heat to Warm, then add lemon juice and cayenne. Serve within 4 hours. Serves 6.

Done reading the recipe? Good. Think I did all of that? HAHAHA!!! NO! Of course not! It’s me we’re talking, remember? :o)

You know me; my ‘method’ was to toss it all in the crock pot, set it to Low and let it cook while I was at work. Turn it down to Keep Warm when I get home, add the lemon and cayenne (only ¼ tsp for me. ½ tsp just seemed like too much). Much easier and way less time consuming!

So how did it turn out? It was pretty darn delicious, actually. Even without the beef broth (I used water instead). It was the only thing I’d forgotten about. I’d purchased all the ingredients two weeks before, but then couldn’t face spicy food that week, so the chicken went in the freezer and the veg stayed in the crisper drawer until I thought I could handle it. Thankfully everything held up well in the fridge.

The only thing I was really skeptical about what whether the flour would actually thicken the sauce at all. It wasn’t going to ever truly boil, so I didn’t think it would make a difference.

I was wrong.

It gave the sauce enough body to make it really feel like a stew rather than a hearty soup.

Do you have to toast the spices, brown the meat and simmer the sauce? No. Would it taste better if you did? Most assuredly. I would love to try this again sometime when I have the time and energy to follow the instructions as well as the ingredients.

It was very tasty using my slap-dash method. It would be that much more yummy if I took the time to build and layer the flavors. Browned and toasty bits are my favorite part of just about anything. I love eating the cracklings from the fry pan after I fry bacon. Mmmm…bacon.

By the way, this stuff was just crying out for a loaf of crusty bread to go with it. We ate it with a nice spelt bread, which was surprisingly good. The bread was a little sweet and had a thin spread of butter on top. And of course everything is better with butter.

Oh, and this? Is only 4 PointsPlus on the Weight Watchers program. Which is great because I had a horrible case of the munchies all week. :o)

Not sure what’s in store for us this week. We’re on vacation, so we would probably have more time to cook, but we’re cleaning the basement, so we probably won’t have the energy. Maybe something new!

Thanks for dropping by, y’all! Have a great week and I’ll see you next Friday!