Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Apricots

This easy Moroccan Chicken is made with briney Castelvetrano olives and sweet dried apricots, along with a few other flavorful ingredients.

I tested this Moroccan Chicken recipe many times. Many, many times. I wanted to get the flavors just right, but more importantly, I wanted to develop something that was as easy and as uncomplicated as possible.

The method is fairly simple. You’ll puree the sauce base in a blender and then add it to a baking dish with the spiced chicken, onions, preserved lemon, and the olives and apricots. Pop it in the oven for an hour and you’ve got a delicious meal.

There are some bold flavors and ingredients in this recipe, all of them needed. So many delicious spices, like smoked paprika, cumin, cardamom, and saffron that flavor the chicken and stew incredibly well. And you can’t forget the preserved lemon, olives, and dried apricots. It may seem like a long list of ingredients, but you probably have so many of them in your kitchen already.

Ingredient Notes:

• Garlic Powder – A Burlap & Barrel favorite of mine. Can be purchased on their website or quickly on Amazon. I like all the Burlap & Barrel products, you really can smell and taste the difference. Worth every penny!
• Smoked Paprika – Burlap & Barrel again, buy it here on Amazon!
• Cumin – I buy whole cumin seeds from, you guessed it, Burlap & Barrel. This spice is LIFE-CHANGING. Then I grind them in a spice grinder, which you can get here and also use for grinding coffee beans.
• Cardamom – Again, from Burlap & Barrel, found here.
• Bone-In Skin-On Chicken Thighs – I think they’re juicier and more flavorful than chicken breasts, and work better with this recipe. However if you have an aversion to dark meat, you can use 1 bone-in skin-on chicken breast for every 2 thighs. Or you can do a combo of both breasts and thighs. The skin protects the meat from drying out too much, and is delicious when crispy!
• Garlic Cloves – I like to use extra fresh garlic in the stewed liquid. However if you don’t have fresh garlic laying around but have garlic powder, you can use half a teaspoon extra of garlic powder per 3 garlic cloves.
• Chicken Stock – If you don’t have chicken stock but have vegetable stock, you can use it instead.
• Dried Thyme – Feel free to substitute dried oregano or rosemary, if you don’t have dried thyme at home.
• Preserved Lemon – You can buy this at many grocery stores, including Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s. You can also order on Amazon.
• Castelvetrano Olives – Feel free to use pitted green olives of your choosing if you can’t find this particular type.
• Dried Apricots – You can substitute golden raisins if you can’t find dried apricots.
• Bay Leaf – Fresh or dried!
• Pine Nuts – Feel free to substitute slivered almonds, if needed.
• Parsley Leaves – Garnish with fresh cilantro, dill, or chives instead of parsley, if desired.

Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Apricots

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Moroccan

Servings 4

Equipment

• 1 Small Bowl
• 1 Large Bowl
• 1 Blender
• 1 Large Baking Dish

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• 1 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 ½ teaspoon cardamom
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs
• Kosher salt
• 3 cloves garlic peeled
• 1- inch chunk ginger peeled
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 2 teaspoons Dijon
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 yellow onion peeled, halved, and thinly sliced
• ½ teaspoon dried thyme
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 big pinch saffron threads
• 1 preserved lemon quartered, pulp removed and discarded, and skin finely chopped
• 20 pitted Castelvetrano olives halved
• 10 dried apricots thinly sliced
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 tablespoons pine nuts toasted
• Parsley leaves for garnish

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Instructions

 

• Adjust rack to middle position and preheat the oven to 425°F.
• In small bowl, mix together the garlic powder, smoked paprika, cumin, cardamom, and a generous grinding of freshly ground black pepper until well-combined.
• Season chicken. In a large bowl, mix about 2/3 of the spice mixture with olive oil. Add chicken pieces and a generous amount of Kosher salt (I used about 2 ½ teaspoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt for 8 pieces of chicken) and mix to combine until evenly coated.
• Make the base of the sauce. In a blender, combine the garlic, ginger, tomato paste, Dijon, a generous amount of Kosher salt (I used 2 teaspoons for 8 pieces of chicken), freshly ground black pepper, chicken stock, and the remaining spice mixture. Blend well.
• In a large baking dish, scatter the onions over the bottom. On top of the onions, scatter the dried thyme, red pepper flakes, saffron threads, preserved lemon, olives, and apricots. Add the bay leaf and pour the blended sauce over the onion mixture. Add the chicken pieces, skin side up.
• Bake for 1 hour, until chicken is cooked through, skin is crispy, and sauce has thickened slightly.
• Taste sauce and season with more salt and freshly ground black pepper. If desired, sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and fresh parsley and serve.

Notes

Moroccan Chicken can be prepped ahead of time. Chicken can be seasoned and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight. Sauce can be blended and stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator overnight. 

Moroccan Chicken can be made ahead of time, cooled, and stored covered in plastic wrap in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Reheat uncovered in the oven until sauce is bubbling and chicken is warmed through. 

Keyword celiac, easy, flavorful, gluten free, one dish, One pan, Pine Nuts, spices

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