There’s something so comforting about a bowl of hot steaming rice, particularly when it’s combined with succulent Moroccan spiced chicken and juicy apricots!
More often than not, you need to cook dishes like this one in a slow cooker (and you certainly could if you had the time). But, this meal was ready in about 20 minutes, so a great little dish to make when you’re time challenged.
I found the recipe for the Moroccan Rice on BBC Good Food.com, as well as a separate recipe for the Moroccan Spice Blend which came in handy as I didn’t have any Moroccan spice on hand. And wow, I’m in love with the spice blend – it’s deeply aromatic and absolutely makes the rice dish come alive. In fact I added two tablespoons of the spice rather than the one tablespoon suggested. I felt it was needed as I found the dish just a tad bland in terms of seasoning. I also recommend you use chicken thighs rather than chicken breast, as the meat is more tender.
I’ll definitely be making this dish again, given how quickly it’s prepared. Besides which, I’ve got a nice little jar of delicious Moroccan spice that needs using! Enjoy!
SPICY MOROCCAN RICE WITH CHICKEN & APRICOTS
Ingredients
For the Spicy Moroccan Rice:
- 4 skinless chicken breasts (or thighs, for a softer meat, diced)
- 1 tbsp or more according to taste Moroccan spice seasoning (or make your own – recipe below)
- 1 onion, finely sliced
- 1.7 oz butter
- 10.5 oz rice (I used basmati)
- 12 dried apricots, halved or quartered, depending on size
- Chicken stock cube and 24.6 fl oz boiling water (or use 700ml liquid chicken stock)
- 14.4 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 0.5 oz flatleaf parsley, chopped
For Moroccan Spice Blend:
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp black pepper
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 1/2 tsp cayenne
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
Instructions
For the Spicy Moroccan Rice with Chicken:
- Coat chicken with the Moroccan spice (I suggest you do this ahead of time to ensure as much flavour as possible, and store in the fridge).
- Fry the onion in butter until soft and translucent.
- Add the chicken, then cook for a few mins more. Stir in the rice and apricots, then pour in the stock cube with 700ml boiling water (or the liquid stock) and the chickpeas.
- Cover the pan and simmer for 10 mins until the rice is tender and has absorbed most of the liquid. Toss in the chopped flat leaf parsley and serve.
For the Moroccan Spice Blend:
- Blend all the ingredients together and store in a small jar in a cool place.
Nutrition
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