North African Style Stewed Chicken Recipes

NORTH AFRICAN CHICKEN AND SPINACH STEW

Steps:

• PLACE the chicken in a large pot and cover it with water. Add the celery, carrot, onion, and bay leaves and season with 1 tablespoon salt. Cover and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 45 minutes.
• REMOVE the chicken to a deep dish or bowl and let it drain. Strain the stock into a large bowl or pan and set aside. Transfer the vegetables from the strainer to a blender (remove the bay leaves), add the garlic, and puree until completely smooth. Set aside.
• TO make the spinach stew, in a large saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter. When it's bubbling slightly, add the vegetable puree. Warm it through, about 2 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon salt, the pepper, and the cinnamon stick, then add the spinach and cook until wilted, about 2 minutes. Add 1 1/2 cups of the reserved stock and bring to a simmer. Cook to let the flavors develop, about 15 minutes. Reduce the heat and keep warm (remove the cinnamon stick before serving).
• MEANWHILE, when the chicken is cool enough to handle, pat it completely dry and break it down into 8 pieces: 2 thighs, 2 wings, and 2 breasts, then split the breasts in half. Place the chicken pieces in a large dish. Combine the granulated onion, granulated garlic, paprika, cayenne, oregano, and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Completely coat the chicken in this dry rub.
• MELT the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a large cast-iron skillet over high heat. Add the chicken pieces and sear until charred in spots, about 4 minutes. Flip and cook on the other side, 4 minutes. Remove from the heat.
• SERVE the chicken with rice and a generous ladle of spinach stew. Squeeze lemon over the plate if desired.

NORTH AFRICAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Add the chicken to a large bowl then drizzle with avocado oil and all the spices. Using a pair of tongs turn and mix the chicken pieces and spices together until they are evenly distributed over the chicken.
• Sear the chicken about a minute or to per side on a large frying pan heated to medium high heat.
• Bake in the oven at 350ºF for 15 minutes, or until the internal temperautre reaches 165ºF.

AFRICAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• Chopped the peeled ginger root and place it in a blender. Rinse and chop the basil, parsley, and celery and add them to the blender. Add the garlic cloves and 1/3 of the chopped onion to the blender. Add a little water to help the blender then blend everything into a smooth paste.
• If using a whole chicken, rinse thoroughly then wipe with paper towels. Cut the chicken into desired pieces and place it in a pot.
• To the chicken, add the salt, 2 Maggi cubes or 2 teaspoons of chicken bouillon powder, a quarter teaspoon of white pepper and half of the seasoning blend. Add enough water to be at the same level as the chicken. Use a wooden spoon to mix everything together so all the ingredients get evenly distributed.
• Set the chicken on high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Once it starts to boil, reduce the heat down to medium and let it simmer until chicken is fully cooked. It takes about 30 to 45 minutes depending on the hardness of the chicken.
• Using a slotted spoon remove the chicken from the stock and place on a baking sheet lined with a rack. Reserve the chicken stock.
• Set oven to high broil. Place the chicken in the oven to broil on one side for about 8 minutes. Then remove the chicken, flip to the other side and let it broil for about 5 minutes.
• Rinse the tomatoes, cut them in chunks and place them in a blender with another 1/3 of the chopped onion. Blend into a paste (no need to add water before blending),
• Pour the one cup of oil into a large pot and let it heat up on high heat for about 3 minutes.
• Add the remaining onion to the oil and quickly stir. Let it saute for about 1-2 minutes.
• Add the tomato-onion blend to the oil and let it cook for about 10 minutes -20 minutes while you stir from time to time to prevent burning. Let it cook until the tomatoes significantly dehydrate and it's mostly just the tomatoes and oil left in the pot.
• Add the tomato paste to the pot and let it cook while stirring continuously until the tomatoes completely dehydrate and there is just tomato and oil in the pot.
• Add the remaining half of the green seasoning blend to the pot and stir so the flavors can bloom. Let it cook while you stir from time to time for 2-3 minutes.
• Add in the reserved chicken stock, the curry powder, the remaining Maggi cube or 1 more teaspoon of chicken bouillon powder. Also add half to one cup of water depending on your preferred level of thickness. Stir everything to combine. Add the broiled chicken to the pot and stir to combine. Let everything simmer for 5 minutes so the chicken can marry the flavors in the stew. Turn off the heat and your African Chicken Stew is done!
• Serve stew warm over hot fluffy rice with a side of sweet fried plantains if you like. Store stew in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days or on the freezer for up to a month.

AFRICAN CHICKEN STEW

Steps:

• In a large skillet with a tight-fitting lid, heat oil over medium high heat. Add chicken, and brown quickly. Remove chicken from pan. Reduce heat to medium low, and add garlic, onion and potato to the pan; saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Season with cumin, coriander, black pepper, red pepper and salt. Do not let garlic brown.
• Mix in water and browned chicken, and any accumulated juices. Place lid on skillet and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes.
• Remove lid, and stir in the peanut butter and garbanzo beans. Make sure the peanut butter is blended in. Replace lid to simmer for 10 more minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are tender. Remove from heat, adjust seasoning, and serve.

NORTH AFRICAN CHICKEN AND RICE

Steps:

• In a 3- or 4-qt. slow cooker, combine onion and oil. Place chicken thighs on top of onion; sprinkle with next 7 ingredients. Top with raisins, olives, lemon and garlic. Add broth. Cook, covered, on low until chicken is tender, 4-5 hours. Serve with hot cooked rice.

NORTH AFRICAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Cut each chicken breast in half, then season all the chicken. Heat the oil in a mediumsize ovenproof casserole dish. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and brown well all over - you can do it in batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Lower heat slightly, add the shallots to the pan and cook until golden brown all over. Add the garlic and grated ginger and cook for 30 secs before adding all the spices and cooking for 1 min more.
• Throw the butternut squash into the pan and stir to coat in the spices. Arrange the chicken, skin side uppermost, on top of the shallots and squash. Pour over the stock and drizzle in the honey. Bring to a gentle simmer, then transfer to the oven to bake for 40 mins until tender. Scatter with the coriander and serve with couscous and a bowl of harissa, if you like.

NORTH AFRICAN-STYLE STEWED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Rub chicken parts lightly with salt and pepper. Heat 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet, Dutch oven or other oven-proof pot. Add chicken pieces and cook over medium-high heat, turning frequently, until browned, about 5 minutes. Remove pieces to a plate.
• Add remaining olive oil, onion and cinnamon to cooking pot. Sauté 2 to 3 minutes, then add paprika, cumin, ginger, garlic and coriander. Sauté 5 minutes. Add mustard greens and preserved lemon and cook until greens wilt, about 6 minutes.
• Pour in 1 cup stock. Return chicken to pot and add cardamom pods, ras el hanout (or Indian curry powder) and saffron. Pour in more stock until chicken is mostly covered, up to 1 cup. Add a pinch of salt to taste. Bring mixture to a simmer over medium heat and cook 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to preheated oven and cook 1 to 1 1/2 hours or until liquid has reduced and meat is falling off the bones. Let rest 10 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and cardamom pods before serving over rice.