Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillards
11
More often than not, I find myself searching for one thing on Epicurious and ending up with something completely different. I honestly don’t even know what I was looking for when this recipe came up in the search results, but I do know that this got added to the menu on the spot.
Although I didn’t try Moroccan food until well into my twenties, I really enjoy the flavors. In fact, one of my favorite dinners in this Moroccan chicken with lentils, and this dish has similar flavors but takes even less time to make. You very likely already have the ingredients on hand to make this and, even better, it’s extremely easy and healthy.
The flavors in this were great – a little sweet and a little spicy (both hot spice and…well, whatever you call the type of spice than cinnamon is). I served the chicken with roasted brussels sprouts (my first of the season!) and couscous that I cooked in chicken broth with lemon zest and toasted almonds. The brussels sprouts took about twice as long to cook as the rest of the meal. 🙂
Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Paillards
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 tsp. olive oil
1.5 lbs. chicken breasts sliced or pounded to 1/4″ thickness
salt
1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1 Tbsp. honey
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Combine the cumin, paprika, pepper, and oil in a small saucepan or skillet and cook over medium-low until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl, reserving the skillet. Brush the chicken on each side with the mixture. Season to taste with salt.
Heat a large, heavy bottomed skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium-high heat, and add the chicken (in batches). Cook approximately 2 minutes per side or until done. Keep warm on a covered plate.
To the skillet/saucepan you used for the oil and spice mixture, add the orange juice, honey, lemon juice, cinnamon stick, crushed red pepper, and any accumulated juices from the cooked chicken. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir in the butter. Season with salt and spoon over the chicken.
Adapted from Gourmet
moroccan spices always make me happy. ALWAYS. I love that combination of warming spices with a little bit of heat!
You eat such exotic/flavorful food. I hope you are developing the palate of your little one with tastes of everything.
You always have the most interesting and fantastic flavors featured on your blog. I absolutely would love to try this. Yum!
I really enjoy Moroccan food! This week I made a Moroccan inspired chicken stew, and now I’m bookmarking your recipe for next time 🙂
Delicious! I made this for dinner tonight and paired it with Mediterranean couscous. The sauce is sweet but ends with a subtle spicy note. A tasty and quick weeknight meal!
Glad you enjoyed it, Judith!
Loved it! Next time I’ll double the sauce (which I could eat by the spoonful) – we didn’t have quite enough for our leftover chicken.
Happy to hear you enjoyed it, Ana!
This was so good!!!! I made 6 peices of thin chicken breasts and doubled the spice mixture to cover both sides of each.
Glad you liked it, Dalia!