“This past March has been my first month of retirement and I found your call for recipes, during this challenging time, to be helpful. One of my favorite meals to cook while hunkered down is my version of Moroccan Chicken. It is not particularly elaborate, but comforting, unique and consists of most ingredients folks may already have in their cupboards and freezers. I have tweaked this original recipe considerably over the past decade, during which I’ve often served it on New Year’s Eve. This dish may taste even better the next day when reheated as the flavors are able to blend further.” – Portland resident William Doukas, retired engineer for the Maine Department of Transportation

MOROCCAN CHICKEN 

Doukas says this dish combines familiar ingredients but gets an African flare from the combination of sweet honey, ginger and cinnamon contrasting with hot pepper. Moroccan chicken goes well with lighter, fruitier red wines as well any good beer, he said, and it freezes well, preferably in vacuum sealed bags.

Serves 6 to 8 

1 large Vidalia or yellow onion, coarsely chopped

1/4 cup ground (or crystallized) ginger

4 tablespoons minced garlic

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground coriander

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes or Aleppo pepper

1 (24-oz.) jar of any type pasta sauce (roasted garlic, marinara, basil, etc.)

1 (28-oz.) can peeled whole tomatoes

½ cup honey

1½ pounds chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

1  pound chicken breasts, skinless and boneless

Salt and black pepper, to taste

4 tablespoons olive oil

Couscous or rice for serving

Puree the chopped onion in a food processor with the ginger and garlic.

Melt the butter in large Dutch oven. Add the pureed onion mixture and stir to coat with butter. Stir in the cinnamon, coriander, cayenne and red pepper flakes. Let this fragrant mixture simmer gently for 30 minutes.

Add the pasta sauce and the tomatoes to the onion mixture. Stir in the honey. Turn to low.

While the onion is cooking, cut both dark and white chicken meat into 2 to 3 inch squares with a sharp knife, and pat dry. Season well with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil over medium-high heat in large sauté pan. Add the chicken. Do not crowd the pan. When the chicken is slightly brown, after 3 to 4 minutes on each side, add it to the Dutch oven. As they cook, the chicken pieces will shrink considerably and become very tender. Reduce the heat to simmer, cover the pot, and cook the mixture for 1 to 2 hours. The longer this dish simmers, the more distinct and thorough the taste.

To serve, spoon Moroccan Chicken over a generous serving of couscous, basmati or other rice.

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