Morroccan Chicken and Lentils

Oh man am I glad I have a good memory.  It serves me so well.

I’m able to dredge up horrible past behaviors during arguments with others, delight friends and family in my knowledge of oh-so-obscure details, and summon recipe sources I merely glanced at years ago just in time for dinner.

Yep.  Back when I first ran across this recipe in 2008 (Two thousand eight!) I wasn’t eating meat.  And the Omnivore wasn’t eating lentils.  And so I moseyed on along in my vegetarian adventure.

And eventually I started eating meat.  And before that the Omnivore became a crony to the lentil and this recipe was screaming to be made.  SCREAMING!

And so I made it.  And a full 7 days after we’d finished the last of the leftovers, the Omnivore asked, “Is there any of that chicken stuff leftover?”  Yep.  He was still wanting the good eats from a week prior.  And of course, there was nothing leftover, and I certainly wouldn’t have allowed him to eat 7 day old chicken again.  So I’ll make this meal again this week.  Because it is *that* delicious.  I never make the same meal more than once per month.

One Year Ago: Black Bean Soup

Moroccan Spiced Chicken and Lentils (6 servings)
3 tsp cumin
1.5 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1 whole chicken (approximately 3-4 lbs)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 onion
1 rib celery
2 carrots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup lentils
2 cups water
1/4 cup raisins
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper

Remove skin from whole chicken.  Combine first 7 ingredients.  Rub approximately 1/4 of that spice mixture into the meat of the chicken.  In a large dutch oven (large enough to contain the whole chicken or cut-up chicken), saute onions, carrots, and celery in nonstick cooking spray for approximately 4-5 minutes.  Add remaining spices and cook for 1 minutes.  Add garlic and stir.  Nestle chicken among sauteed veggies and pour diced tomatoes over.  Add 2 cups water or broth, lentils, raisins, and bay leaves.  Cook over low heat, 2-3 hours at just barely a simmer, until chicken is very tender and lentils have absorbed water.  Remove chicken, if desired, and pull meat away from bones, returning the meat to the dutch oven to simmer.  Otherwise, cut chicken as desired and serve on the bone with a ladle full of lentils and vegetables.

This is an excellent dinner party dish as it can be made early in the afternoon, makes the house smell delightful, and can be placed on “pause” but just keeping warm stovetop or in a warm oven until time for dinner.

6 servings
Calories 229.9
Total Fat 3.1 g
Cholesterol 86.1 mg
Total Carbohydrate 17.4 g
Protein 32.5 g