I had a difficult time deciding what to make for Morocco. All their food looked amazing! So I just made the decision based on what I had in my pantry. Chicken, limes, spices… check, all I had to go out an buy were the olives and really, you can’t go wrong with chicken (or prawns in my opinion!) . So here is the delicious Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon by The Bon Appétit Test Kitchen…

First, more for my benefit than anything else, a little information about Morocco: Oficially the Kingdom of Morocco, is located in North Africa. It’s capital is Rabat and its largest city is Casablanca (yes, the classic movie by the same name is based in that city). It has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean and is bordered by Algeria, Spain and Western Sahara.

Interesting facts:
- On November 18, 2006, Morocco celebrated its 50th anniversary of independence from France.
- Morocco’s official language is Modern Standard Arabic however, about 2,000,000 Moroccans in the northern part of the country speak Spanish as a second language.
-Moroccan cuisine has long been considered as one of the most diversified cuisines in the world. This is a result of the centuries-long interaction of Morocco with the outside world. The cuisine of Morocco is a mix of Berber, Spanish, Corsican, Portuguese, Moorish, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, and African cuisines.

Recipe: Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon

Ingredients:
2 lemons or regular lemons (green lemons or limes work well)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, halved, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
1 4 1/2-pound chicken, cut into 8 pieces, skin removed (I used skinless chicken thighs)
1 tsp cornstarch (optional)
1/2 cup green olives

Cut 1 lemon into 8 wedges. Squeeze enough juice from second lemon to measure 2 tablespoons; set wedges and juice aside.
Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper; sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute.

Add broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Add lemon wedges.

Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to skillet. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly (you can add a tsp of cornstarch to help thicken the broth), about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.

Hot Moroccan Chicken

Notes: Not much to say, I pretty much followed the recipe to the letter. All I added was the teaspoon of cornstarch to help thicken the “sauce”. I used sliced green olives since the recipe didn’t really specify, they worked very well! I also used “limes” instead of lemons, I use the quotation marks in limes because where I come from we called them lemons, limes are actually bittersweet (some call them sweet limes) and they originate from India y southeast Asia. Ladies and gentlemen, THIS is a lime:

Now that I have that off my chest, I can continue.

Verdict: DELICIOUS! The spices in the sauce gave the chicken a very distinct taste, not overpowering at all but just hard to describe. Cinnamon and paprika go so well together that I think I will use the mix for other meats. There’s nothing more satisfying for a cook than to hear someone make “yummy noises” when they taste your food… and this recipe didn’t disappoint. It was quite citric but you can always add salt to it, although I found that serving it with… you guessed it… rice! Actually made the dish not so citrus-y. I completely and utterly recommend you make this! It’s something you absolutely gotta try!

P.S. I suggest ending the meal (or having during the meal) with Morocco’s most popular drink: green tea with mint, on its own or accompanied with hard sugar cones or lumps. Enjoy!