Moroccan Chicken and Summer Squash Couscous
This is a Moroccan style soup/stew intended to ladle over prepared couscous (tiny grain-like pasta made from semolina). You may prepare the couscous however the company suggests, but a Moroccan would steam it over the bubbling stew as it cooked for several hours and deftly fluff it with water from time to time until it was cooked. I just cook it on the stove top and fluff before serving.
This is a Moroccan style soup/stew intended to ladle over prepared couscous (tiny grain-like pasta made from semolina). You may prepare the couscous however the company suggests, but a Moroccan would steam it over the bubbling stew as it cooked for several hours and deftly fluff it with water from time to time until it was cooked. I just cook it on the stove top and fluff before serving.
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tablespoon fresh ginger grated
- 2 1/2-3 pounds chicken thighs and legs 8 pieces of bone in, skin on chicken
- 1 large onion chopped in large slices
- 1/2 cup tomato diced
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt use some to season your chicken pieces and the remainder will go in your soup pot- adjust to your own taste as the stew cooks
- 1 whole fresh lemon quartered, peel included
- 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro tie in a bundle with string
- 2 large carrots chopped into large bite sized pieces
- 1 whole kohlrabi chopped in large bite sized pieces
- 1 small pepper, jalapeno using one in this volume will not impart heat, only flavor. use two if you prefer heat.
- 3 cups summer squash patty pans, yellow squash and/or zucchini quartered into large bite sized pieces
- water boiling hot and enough to cover your stew
- Carbohydrate 13.8197308173189 g
- Cholesterol 168.9184 mg
- Fat 32.4081934998808 g
- Fiber 5.35816235079993 g
- Protein 37.6998859799206 g
- Saturated Fat 9.06842266225354 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (403g)
- Sodium 381.089785163725 mg
- Sugar 8.46156846651895 g
- Trans Fat 2.13811307180524 g
- Calories 492 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat a kettle full of water to boil.
- Season the chicken and brown in a deep skillet with the olive oil. Cook it in batches and as the meat is ready place in a large soup pot.
- Pour off the fat in skillet- reserving a tablespoon oil/chicken fat and return to heat. Sauté the onion, garlic, tomatoes, and all your spices until onions are soft. 5 Minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients (reserving only the squash- to be added within the last half hour of cooking) to the soup pot and pour the boiling water over to cover. Simmer for approximately 2 hours or until chicken is falling from the bone.
- Adjust the seasonings to your liking.
- Add the Summer Squash within the last half hour.
- Prepare Cous Cous, fluff with a small amount of olive oil.
- When dishing out servings, avoid giving folks the 4 pieces of lemon and the cilantro bundle. One lucky soul gets the jalapeño!
Crowding the pan when browning bone-in chicken guarantees steamed skin rather than rendered fat and deep caramelized flavor. Brown the eight pieces in small batches inside a deep skillet. Drain excess fat carefully while leaving one tablespoon behind to sweat the onions, garlic, and diced tomatoes. Spices like cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon require direct contact with warm oil to bloom properly before the boiling water enters the pot.
Staggered Cooking Times
Root vegetables and dense squash demand different thermal timelines. Carrots and kohlrabi need the full two-hour simmer alongside the chicken until the meat falls away from the bone. Delicate summer squash disintegrates entirely if subjected to that duration. Introduce patty pans, yellow squash, or zucchini only during the final thirty minutes of boiling. Tie the cilantro bunch securely with string so the leaves do not break apart into unmanageable fragments throughout the broth.
- Discard the quartered lemon pieces and cilantro bundle before plating individual portions.
- Adjust salt levels continuously during the two-hour simmer as liquid evaporates.
- Control heat intensity using one or two jalapeños depending on spice tolerance.
