Moroccan Chicken Salad

Moroccan Chicken Salad

During this weekend’s Adventures in Housesitting, I gave KC what was I hope one of many cooking lessons. It was fun, and set to the crooning of Michael Buble, I chose Chicken Tagine as our first dish. It’s quick, easy, packs a flavorful punch and never ceases to be a fan favorite. Served with some orzo made the mom way, KC couldn’t stop raving about it. Anyway, meals this weekend inspired this Moroccan Chicken Salad.

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Making it Saturday night made me realize how much I just love that dish, and how often it becomes my go-to lazy meal for all those cold fall and winter nights.  And I realized that there was no reason to stop the love in the summer, and, as such, I decided to salad-ify it.  In doing so, I used all the same components that make it a perfect stew, and turned it into the Moroccan version of a Cobb salad. Plus, SO MANY GREENS from my CSA lately.  And, is summer salad season? Tomato and Lettuce scoff at my designation of it as a summer food since they’re anti-categorizing-food-by-season, but I think most would agree.  Anyway, only a few weeks left, so let’s summer-food it up.

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I thought about throwing it all together, tossed salad-like, but the components were so colorful on their own, I figured Cobb presentation was the way to go.  Don’t you agree?  So pretty.

moroccan chicken salad

To give it a little more heft and protein, I went with quinoa for my starch. Couscous or the aforementioned orzo would also do splendidly.

Now, who said they hate salads??

Moroccan chicken salad

Moroccan Chicken Salad

August 11, 2015
: 4
: 5 min
: 10 min
: 30 min
: Easy

The flavors of chicken tagine are pulled out of the traditional stew and converted into this hearty and healthy Moroccan chicken salad.

By:

Ingredients
  • For the chicken:
  • 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs
  • 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 ½ tsp smoked paprika, eyeball it
  • ½ tsp ground coriander, eyeball it
  • ½ tsp tumeric, eyeball it
  • ¼ tsp cinnamon, a couple shakes
  • For the salad:
  • 1 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
  • 12 prunes, halved
  • 1 cup uncooked quinoa
  • 2 cups water
  • 8 ounces crumbled feta cheese
  • 1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
  • 1/2 cup fresh mint, ribboned
  • 8 cups mixed greens
  • pistachios, to garnish
  • For the dressing:
  • 2 TB red wine vinegar
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 TB, heaping, apricot jam or orange marmalade
  • 1 shallot
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp coarse black pepper
  • 4 TB olive oil
Directions
  • Step 1 In a small saucepan, add the quinoa and water and cook until the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa has cooked. I personally use a rice cooker for this.
  • Step 2 Preheat the broiler or grill.
  • Step 3 In a large bowl, add the chicken, paprika, cumin, coriander, cinnamon and turmeric. Toss to thoroughly coat. Place the thighs, single layer, on a broiling pan lined with foil. Broil or grill the thighs, about 7 minutes the first side, 4 the second, until cooked through. Set aside to let the juices redistribute, about 10 minutes. Chop chicken into strips.
  • Step 4 Make the dressing by tossing all the ingredients into a blender. Puree until smooth.
  • Step 5 In a large bowl, mix together the greens, parsley and mint. Toss in the quinoa.
  • Step 6 Divide the lettuce between four plates or bowls. Arrange the chicken, garbanzos, prunes, feta in a pleasing arrangement atop the salad. Sprinkle with some pistachios for crunch and drizzle the desired amount of dressing on top. Serve immediately.

 

 


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