One place I would love to travel to is the beautiful city of Marrakech in the walls of Morocco. I was inspired by their aromatic flavors and spices and took a chance on this delicious dish! I prepared some chicken breast by searing it in some olive oil and setting it aside. I then sauteed some onions that were used to flavor the chicken along with flavor-packed ingredients like preserved lemons, cracked olives, kalamata olives, garlic, and cinnamon. All these flavors combined created a perfectly balanced and incredibly tasting meal! The chicken breast was extremely tender and packed with some of the most beautiful spices and ingredients. I served this chicken alongside rice and traditional Palestinian salad for dinner!
I chopped some flat-leaf Italian parsley at the very end and sprinkled it over the cooked chicken right before serving.
You can use canned green olives, however I wanted a more Earthy flavor so I used Nablus cracked olives which I got at my local Arab grocery.
I love experimenting with different flavor profiles from all over the world. It gives me a chance to expand my skills and learn about combinations that I never thought would pair well together. After doing my research on Moroccan cuisine, I was thrilled to try some of these ingredients together. I don't usually use cinnamon in dinner meals, however I kept it subtle by adding a cinnamon stick for just a few minutes to get those flavors released and it was the perfect decision!
The amount of time the chicken was cooked is very important to keeping it juicy and tender without it drying out. A tip to keep chicken from drying out is to pierce the chicken breast with a knife so that when cooked in the broth, it enters the meat!
Prep Time: 15 minutes Serves: 2 People Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 50 minutes
INGREDIENTS:
2 Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, each cut into 3 pieces
4 cloves of Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. Ginger Powder
1 1/2 tsp. Paprika
1/2 tsp. Cumin
1/2 tsp. Turmeric
2 tsp. Salt
1/4 tsp. Black Pepper
3 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1 Yellow Onion, thinly sliced
1 Cinnamon Stick
1/4 cup Kalamata Olives
1/4 cup Cracked Green Olives, pitted
2 Dried Lemons
1 Fresh Lemon, cut into about 6 medium-sized pieces
1 cup Chicken Broth
Juice of 1/2 Lemon
Chopped Italian Parsley, optional
INSTRUCTIONS:
In a medium bowl, add the chicken breasts, garlic, ginger powder, paprika, cumin, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Marinate the chicken for an hour in the fridge.
In a large skillet, heat up the olive oil over medium-high heat.
Add in the marinated chicken breasts and brown them on each side for about 4-5 minutes until both sides have a golden color. Remove the chicken breast from the skillet and set aside in a plate.
In the same skillet, add in the sliced onions. Saute them for about 7-8 minutes until they have softened and gained some color.
Return the chicken to the skillet on top of the onions and add in the cinnamon stick, kalamata olives, green olives, dried lemons, fresh lemon pieces, chicken broth, and lemon juice. Make sure everything is spread evenly throughout the skillet for even cooking and flavoring.
Bring the broth to a rolling boil, remove the cinnamon stick, then cover the skillet and cook the chicken over medium heat for 20 minutes until the chicken is fully cooked and there is no more liquid in the skillet.
Sprinkle the chicken with parsley and serve with rice.
Enjoy!
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