From Scratch Moroccan Chicken

I’m not a particularly patient person, which is why some people are amazed that I take the time to cook from scratch. Well, if the powers that be made better convenience foods, I might reconsider, but currently, that’s not an option. Most tinned or pre-packaged food is too salty for me, has an off-putting texture or improperly balanced flavours. The manufacturers add so much sugar, sodium or hot pepper I often wonder if the recipes were developed by a chain smoker whose tongue is so thickly coated with tar it would take a tin of Draino and a blow torch to reach his taste buds. Note to recipe developers: hot and flavourful are not mutually exclusive.

When it comes to food, my fussy mouth wins out over my fidgety nature. If I can’t make the time to prepare good food, I’d rather go hungry (or have dark chocolate for dinner, but you can only do that so often). So, until the food industry learns that idiotically hot and insanely salty are no substitute for flavour, here’s a Moroccan-inspired chicken that has a touch of warmth and a hint of sweetness. Add your own salt at the table.

Moroccan Chicken
Printable recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 3 pounds chicken thighs
• 1 tsp paprika
• 2 red onions, thinly sliced
• 2 tsp coriander
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp turmeric
• pinch cayenne (up to 1/4 tsp if you like it hot)
• 2 cups chicken stock (homemade or low-sodium)
• 2 heaping tbsp ginger marmalade

Instructions

1. Season chicken with salt, pepper and paprika.
2. Fry chicken, skin-side down in a large, oven-proof skillet for 3 minutes over medium heat.
3. Turn once and fry another minute. Set thighs aside.
4. Add onion and saute 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook until onions are very soft, about 8 minutes.
5. Stir in spices and cook 2 minutes.
6. Add stock and bring to boil. Boil until stock is reduced by half.
7. Stir in marmalade.
8. Return thighs to skillet skin-side up to retain moisture. Coat thoroughly with the sauce. Make sure the onions are on top of chicken.
9. Place skillet in preheated 400F oven and bake 15 to 20 minutes or until thighs are done. Onions should be crisp.

Variation

• Use orange or lemon marmalade.