Moroccan Dinner

Too tired to post the full recipes or photos, but wanted to make a note of these 3 excellent Moroccan recipes. Everything pairs so well together. Much of it can be made-ahead, making it the perfect meal for company.

Moroccan Carrots
... I served these warm, but they taste great at room temperature too

Moroccan chicken
... I left out the prunes, browned the chicken in a pan with olive oil and then put everything in the crock pot for 4 hours to slow-cook. Instead of using lemon and orange rinds, I just set everything on top of a bed of full wheels of lemon and orange in the bottom of the slow cooker. The mint and lemon juice before serving is a must!


Moroccan Chickpea Barley Salad
... One of my fave salad recipes of all time. This is only the second time I've made it, but I simply adore the fresh flavours.

Potatoes
Tonight, I also added roasted potatoes to the meal as 'filler' to make sure everyone was nice and full... used my standard olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper and paprika... yum :-)

Chicken Cacciatore

4 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 Cup chopped onions
3 Cups sliced mushrooms
2 Cans whole tomatoes (I prefer no salt added)
1 Can tomato paste
1/2 Cup dry white wine
1.5 tsp dried basil
1.5 tsp dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt (I prefer kosher salt)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

4 servings of uncooked spaghetti, linguini, egg noodles or the rice of your choice

Preheat oven to 300 F

Combine all ingredients (minus the pasta/rice) in a large bowl and mix well.
Transfer mixture to a small roasting pan or large casserole dish.
Cover and bake for 2 hours or until chicken is very tender

Ten minutes before cooking time has ended, prepare pasta or rice according to directions.

Serve chicken & sauce mixture over hot pasta or rice.

Serves 4.

Credit: This recipe is a variation on Chicken Catcha Tory from the LooneySpoons cookbook.

Coconut Encrusted Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• ½ cup coconut flakes
• ½ cup flour
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs
• 3 tbsp of virgin olive oil
• 1 bag/8 cups of mixed salad greens or spinach
• 2 avacados, diced
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cucumber, thinly sliced
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp honey
• 1/2 tbsp dijon mustard
• 1 tsp mayo

Directions:

Rinse chicken under cool water and pat dry using a clean kitchen towel or parchment. On a chopping board, cut the chicken into strips somewhere between ½ an inch and an inch thick. Set aside. In a shallow dish, combine coconut flakes, flour and salt and pepper. In a bowl, crack eggs and beat lightly. Dip the chicken strips first in the egg and then roll in the coconut/flour mixture. Heat the oil in the pan over medium-high heat and sauté the chicken strips until the exterior turns a golden brown and the inside is no longer pink. keep warm on a baking sheet in the oven on low until ready to serve.

Chop and combine all other ingredients to make the salad.

Mix dijon mustard, olive oil, lemon juice, honey and mayo together vigorously to create salad dressing. Toss with salad and divide onto 4 plates.

Remove the chicken from oven and place atop salad bed. Drizzle with any remaining dressing and salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately.

Serves 4.

*Note: this is a variation on this recipe from Mark's Daily Apple blog.