Moroccan Style Roast Chicken Recipes

MOROCCAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS RECIPE

Steps:

• To begin making the Moroccan Roast Chicken with Apricots recipe, first tie the legs of the chicken together with wax free thread. Place the chicken on baking tray with breast side up. Pat dry the chicken.
• In a bowl add olive oil, cinnamon powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, paprika powder, red chilli powder, sumac, harissa paste, salt, pepper apricots, honey, whisk together. Rub this spice mix all over the chicken, under the breast, behind on it back evenly.
• Into the same bowl you mixed the spices, add all the vegetables. Add a few drops of olive oil, toss it together and place these vegetables some inside the chicken and some on the outside next to chicken.
• Preheat oven to 180 degree centigrade. Roast the chicken in oven for about 30 minutes. In between keep brushing melted butter over the chicken, also bast the chicken (the juices and olive oil that flows down into the baking tray pour it back over the chicken).
• Do this atleast 3 to 4 times in between the roasting time. Using tongs turn the chicken breast side facing down and roast for about 15 minutes. Remember to brush butter and bast the chicken at regular intervals. We want to see the skin turn brown.
• In a bowl add honey and apricots, coat the apricots well in honey. Next turn back the chicken with breast side facing up using tongs. Pour few tablespoon water and place the honey coated apricots over and inside the chicken.
• Roast for another 15 minutes. We know the chicken is roasted well when the thermometer inserted into the chicken thighs reads about 180 degree centigrade.
• Remove from oven and cut the chicken into pieces and serve hot.
• Serve Moroccan Roast Chicken with Apricots along with Herbed Butter Garlic Quinoa Recipe for a weekday night dinner.

MOROCCAN-STYLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 400°F. Whisk butter, honey, cinnamon, and turmeric in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer 1/4 cup honey butter to small bowl; reserve.
• Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Brush with some of remaining honey butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast chicken until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F to 170°F, brushing occasionally with honey butter and covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Transfer to platter. Serve with reserved honey butter.

MOROCCAN-SPICED ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 450°F (232°C). Slick a heavy large rimmed baking sheet--preferably not a roasting pan, but if you do use a roasting pan, make it a big one--with a little oil.
• Pull out and discard the fat and giblets from the cavity of the chicken. Pat the chicken very dry with paper towels. Starting at the edge of the main cavity, slide a finger under the skin over each breast half, making a pocket between the skin and meat. Rub a total of 1 tablespoon of salt over the chicken skin and toss a little salt inside the cavity. Sprinkle the chicken generously with black pepper.
• In a small bowl, mix the paprika, cumin, pepper flakes, and cinnamon. Set aside 2 1/2 teaspoons of the spice mixture for the vegetables. The rest is for the chicken. Finely grate the zest from the lemon, cut the lemon into quarters, and mix the zest into the spices for the chicken. Gradually mix in 2 tablespoons of olive oil to make a paste. Spread a little of the paste inside the cavity, slather some of it under the skin over the chicken breasts, and rub the rest of the paste all over the outside of the chicken. Toss the lemon quarters inside the cavity. Tie the legs together, if desired. Place the chicken in the center of the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it and if it browns too quickly cover it loosely with a sheet of foil.
• Tie the legs together, if desired. Place the chicken in the center of the baking sheet and roast for 30 minutes. Keep an eye on it and if it browns too quickly cover it loosely with a sheet of foil.
• Meanwhile, cut the sweet potatoes in half crosswise, and then quarter each half lengthwise to create wedges. Combine the sweet potatoes, cauliflower, and onion in a bowl. Add the remaining 3 tablespoons oil and toss to coat. Add the reserved spice mixture, sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper, and toss to coat.
• After the chicken has been roasted for 30 minutes, remove it from the oven. Tilt the sheet pan and spoon off most of the fat. Return the chicken to the center of the sheet and spoon the vegetables around it. Return the pan to the oven and continue roasting until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a thigh registers 165°F (74°C), about 40 minutes longer, depending on the size of the bird. (Note: the bird will take longer to roast if the legs have been tied together. It will also take longer if you ended up with a behemoth bird that's closer to five pounds than four.) If the skin is getting too dark before the meat is done, reduce the oven temperature to 425°F (218°C).
• Arrange the chicken on a platter and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve the chicken and serve with the vegetables.

MOROCCAN PEACH ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
• In a glass measuring cup, combine the margarine, honey, rose water, salt and pepper. Heat in the microwave until margarine has melted, about 30 seconds. Place chicken in a baking dish and pour the margarine mixture over it. Stir to coat the chicken completely. Place the dish of chicken into the oven.
• Cook uncovered in the preheated oven until chicken pieces have browned, about 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Add the peaches to the dish and sprinkle with sugar. Continue to roast until chicken is cooked through, about 20 more minutes.
• Remove chicken pieces to a serving dish and pour the juices from the pan over them. Garnish with slivered almonds.

MOROCCAN ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425° and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. In a bowl, mix the butter with the cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, cayenne and cinnamon and season with salt and pepper. Pat the chicken dry. Rub half of the spice butter under the skin and the rest over the chicken; season with salt and pepper.
• Set the chicken breast-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. Scatter the onion, garlic cloves, dates and dried apricots and add 1/2 cup of water. Roast for 30 minutes, until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned.
• Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up. Add another 1/2 cup of water. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 175° to 180°.
• Tilt the chicken to drain the cavity juices into the pan; transfer the bird to a cutting board. Remove the rack from the pan and spoon off the fat. Set the pan over high heat. Add the stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits. Carve the chicken and pass the chunky jus at the table.

MOROCCAN ROASTED CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425° and position a rack in the lower third of the oven. In a bowl, mix the butter with the cumin, coriander, sweet paprika, cayenne and cinnamon and season with salt and pepper.
• Pat the chicken dry. Rub half of the spice butter under the skin and the rest over the chicken; season with salt and pepper.
• Set the chicken breast-side-up on a rack in a roasting pan. Scatter the onion, garlic cloves, dates and dried apricots and add 1/2 cup of water. Roast for 30 minutes, until the breast is firm and just beginning to brown in spots. Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-down and roast for 20 minutes longer, until the skin is lightly browned.
• Using tongs, turn the chicken breast-side-up. Add another 1/2 cup of water. Roast for about 20 minutes longer, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the inner thigh registers 175° to 180°.
• Tilt the chicken to drain the cavity juices into the pan; transfer the bird to a cutting board. Remove the rack from the pan and spoon off the fat. Set the pan over high heat. Add the stock and cook, scraping up any browned bits. Carve the chicken and pass the chunky jus at the table.

HARVEY'S MOROCCAN ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• For the spice mix: Mix together in a bowl the cloves, pepper, fennel, sesame seeds, coriander, cumin, allspice, nutmeg, ginger and cardamom. Set aside.
• For the spice paste: Place the paprika, lemon juice, the spice mix (from Step 2), salt, chopped mint, black pepper and garlic cloves in a blender. Add 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and blend to until ingredients are mixed, about 6 or 8 pulses. Slowly add the additional olive oil if mixture seems too thick to spread. Blend just until mixture is a smooth paste.
• Spread potatoes and carrots in a roasting pan. Rub about 1/4 of the spice paste inside the cavity of the chicken. Rub the remainder of the paste on the outside of the chicken including the underside. Place the chicken directly on the carrots and potatoes. Pierce the 2 lemons all over with a fork, and place them into the chicken cavity.
• Tent the chicken with aluminum foil. Roast approximately 2 hours until the thickest part of the thigh reaches 180 degrees F (80 degrees C) and the juices run clear. Remove from the oven and let rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

MOROCCAN-STYLE ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position rack in bottom third of oven; preheat to 400°F
• Whisk butter, honey, cinnamon, and turmeric in small bowl.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Transfer 1/4 cup honey butter to small bowl; reserve.
• Place chicken on rack in roasting pan.
• Brush with some of remaining honey butter; sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Roast chicken until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 165°F to 170°F, brushing occasionally with honey butter and covering loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
• Transfer to platter. Serve with reserved honey butter.

MOROCCAN ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Spatchcock the chickens - see tip, below, or ask your butcher to do it for you. Put the olive oil, coriander, sumac, cumin, fennel, chilli, garlic, lemon zest and juice, pomegranate molasses and some ground black pepper into a food processor or blender, and whizz to a paste. Divide between 2 large food bags, add a chicken to each, then squeeze out the air and seal before giving everything a good squelch to coat thoroughly. Marinate for 24-48 hrs in the fridge, turning and squishing every so often.
• Fire up a barbecue and let the flames die down, or heat oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Lift the chicken out of the bags and season well with salt. Barbecue or roast the chicken for 25-30 mins on each side until crisp and cooked through. Set aside on a platter, loosely cover with foil, to rest while you do the apricots. If you roasted rather than barbecued, keep the tin juices warm for serving.
• Put the apricots in a small, snug roasting tin. Whisk the preserved lemon, honey, orange blossom and vinegar with some seasoning. Pour over the apricots and roast, or sit on the barbecue, for 20 mins until soft.
• Serve the chicken with any cooking juices, the apricots and saffron yogurt.

ROASTED ORGANIC CHICKEN WITH MOROCCAN SPICES

Steps:

• Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400°F. Blend first 9 ingredients in blender to moist paste.
• Remove neck, giblets, and excess fat from main cavity of chicken. Rinse chicken inside and out; pat dry with paper towels. Rub 1/3 of spice paste into main cavity and neck cavity, then rub remaining spice paste all over outside of chicken. Place lemons and garlic cloves in main cavity of chicken. Tie legs together. Place chicken on rack in roasting pan. Roast 45 minutes; tent with foil to prevent overbrowning. Continue to roast chicken until instant-read thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 170°F, about 45 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter; let stand 10 minutes (internal temperature will increase by 5 to 10 degrees).
• *A Moroccan spice blend available at some specialty foods stores, Middle Eastern markets, and by mail from The Spice House (312-274-0378; thespicehouse.com).