mardi, mars 21, 2006

Pan-Grilled Spiced Moroccan Chicken with Salad or Pasta

When I have no idea what to cook, I usually fall back on my Pan-Grilled Spiced Moroccan Chicken to save the day. An American friend of mine in Paris told me recently that she served it occasionally to her guests and had always received compliments for the dish.

I usually marinate a few chicken breasts in salt, pepper, 1 tbsp of dried chilli flakes, 1 tbsp of cinnamon powder, 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground turmeric, ground coriander seeds, mustard seeds, a pinch of ground cloves, a generous amount of extra-virgin olive oil (we import our olive oil in 5l drums directly from a cooperative in Martos, Spain), juice of 1 lime, 2 tbsp of pine nuts, 2 cloves of garlic (chopped), 1 tbsp of raisins and strips of 1 red capsicum. Leave for at least an hour.

Then heat up some olive oil in a non-stick frying pan and put the marinated chicken pieces in it to be grilled on both sides. When you are grilling the chicken on its other side, pour in everything else in the marinade (i.e. the red peppers, garlic, nuts, raisins...).

Serve with a lightly tossed salad (just young leaves, olive oil, salt, pepper, lime juice, freshly shaved Parmesan cheese and eventually some sliced shallots or red onions) or pasta al dente (olive oil, shaved Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper). A few sprigs of coriander and mint leaves are also lovely on the chicken.

Speaking of Morocco reminds me of another dish that I make occasionally - a Moroccan Couscous with Merguez Sausages, Grilled Lamb Ribs and Beef. But that will have to be for another post.

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