Chicken ala Morocco

As I was watching the movie Casablanca the other day, I wondered what they might serve at Rick's Café Americain. That café was depicted as an upscale night spot catering to Europeans so it would have probably been something French. The more I watched the movie the more I wondered what might be served just down the street in a more native establishment, something with a real Moroccan influence. I thumbed through some old cookbooks, some even older newspaper clippings, put this and that idea together and came up with this chicken dish for the slow cooker that I think has a distinctly Moroccan influence. I found that there are as many as thirty spices that may included in a Moroccan spice blend, including such things as cardamom, nutmeg, anise, mace, cinnamon, ginger, all kinds of peppers, and turmeric. I adapted a somewhat shorter list with what I think are good results. I hope you will enjoy as much as I have.

6-8 Chicken Thighs
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 onion, cubed
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 cloves garlic, minced
¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup frozen peas
1 teaspoon salt
1 small can whole tomatoes
¼ teaspoon cayenne, generous if you like heat
1 can chick peas
½ cup black olives, whole or sliced (your choice)
½ cup raisins, dried figs, dried apricots (your choice)
1 cup chicken broth (stock can also be used for a richer flavor)

Prepared white rice for serving.

Place the following in your slow cooker (Crock Pot), Your cubed onion, minced garlic, your drained and rinsed chick peas, your fruit (either raisins, figs or apricots) and finally the can of tomatoes which have been drained and the juice discarded. Stir gently to combine and add the chicken broth.

Wash and pat dry your chicken pieces. Rub the spice mixture on both sides of the thighs and place on top of the mixture in the slow cooker. Do not add the peas or olives at this time, wait until 1 hour before final cooking to add them (you can add at the beginning but the quality will be more like canned peas) and the olives will become quite mushy.

Cook on low for 6-8 hrs or on high for 4 hours. Serve with fluffy rice and add any garnish of your choice; suggestions are chopped green onions, chopped parsley or chopped cilantro.

Depending on your family you can serve the mixture over the rice or drained of the juice place alongside the rice. The juice and vegetables mixed with a small amount of rice make an excellent soup the following day.

Cedars of Lebanon

Cedars of Lebanon
152 E. 200S
Salt lake City UT
801-364-4096

A middle-eastern restaurant in down town Salt Lake offering lamb, beef, chicken and vegetarian dishes. Seating is at tables, booths and they have a private room with floor seating and you can arrange for private parties. This was my first time and my son’s second time and I looked forward to trying out the dishes.
Persian rugs adorn the walls and highly polished wooden floors give you the impression and feel of the Middle East. Sadly we dinned on Sunday and therefore missed the belly dancers who perform on Friday and Saturday only. The lunch menu offers American sandwiches, ham, pastrami, roast beef and the like. Also featured are Middle Eastern delights such as Kafta Kebab (ground beef mixed with parsley, onion and spices, charbroiled and served on pita bread0, Cheese Burek (layered filo dough with melted cheese, baked and served with rice and vegetables) to name a few. The dinner menu offers appetizers of Tabbouleh, Falafel, Humus Dip, and Baba Ghanouj as well as many others.
You can pick your main entrée individually or for two which is a cost saver; we picked the lamb and chicken kebab for two which is served with basmati rice. It was a difficult choice since they offer such delicacies as lamb tagine (a slow-cooking lamb stew in a curry sauce flavored with a blend of aromatic spices such as turmeric, cumin, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon) or Pastilla (a Moroccan dish of chicken in a special sauce with spices and folded on filo dough). To start off our dining adventure we picked a bugler dish with tomatoes and cumin served with pita bread which I found to be extremely tasty.
The kebabs are marinated and charbroiled and served atop the basmati rice, I found the beef to be succulent and moist but the chicken was a little dry or perhaps a bit over cooked but still very tasty. The combination of the kebabs pairs well with the aromatic basmati rice and assorted vegetables. The potions are ample for large eaters and they offer to go boxes for your left overs. We paid $29.95 for our dual serving which is slightly less than if ordered separately.
If you have never eaten Middle-Eastern food you owe it to yourself to try out The Cedars of Lebanon or if you are an experienced diner then you are in for a memorable time. Top off the meal with a nice glass of wine and a good dinner companion; nothing could be better.