Passport & Plate - Apricot and Feta Stuffed Chicken with Couscous
Morocco | Wednesday, March 4, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
COUSCOUS SALAD
200 grams cooked couscous (cook as per instructions on packet, fluff up with a fork and leave to cool)
1/2 cucumber, finely diced
1/2 red onion, finely diced
400 gram tin of chickpeas washed and drained
1 cup dried and pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
1 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves, finely chopped (ensure you remove the stalks)
200 grams feta cheese crumbled
STUFFED APRICOT AND FETA CHICKEN
2 chicken breasts
2 tbs feta cheese crumbled
2 tbs finely chopped dried apricots
1tps ground cumin
1tps ground cinnamon
1tps ground turmeric
1 tps grated fresh ginger
4 tps olive oil
Cooking twine
APRICOT SAUCE
1 1/2 cups of coarsely chopped apricots
1/2 chicken stock cube
2 cups water
TO GARNISH
Sprigs of fresh mint
Handful of flaked almonds
How to prepare this recipeFor the couscous salad, cook the couscous as per the packet instructions, fluff up with a fork and set aside on its own to cool completely.
Combine all of your other ingredients and put into a large mixing bowl. Place in the fridge to keep fresh whilst preparing the rest of the dish.
Start your apricot sauce (this will take approximately an hour to reach desired consistency).
Coarsely chop the apricots and place into a small saucepan with the water and stock cube. Put on the stove top on a medium to high heat.
As it boils, you will need to stir every now and then to ensure it doesn't burn, and also to help breakdown the apricots till they reach a chunky sauce like consistency.
Preheat your oven to 410 Fahrenheit / 210 Celsius
For the chicken, rinse the chicken breasts under cold running water and pat dry with either kitchen towel or a clean tea-towel.
Place on a chopping board and with a sharp knife, cut along the side to form a small pocket, then gently increase this to open up the chicken breast to form a butterfly but ensure you don't cut all the way through.
Mix together the spices, ginger and olive oil to form a paste. Rub this entirely over the inside of the chicken breasts and then place the feta and chopped apricots in the centre. 1 tablespoon of each per chicken breast.
Using the twine, fold the chicken breasts together and tie firmly. Drizzle olive oil on top and grind on fresh pepper season.
Place chicken on a foil lined tray and cook in oven for 35 minutes.
Mix the cold couscous into the large mixing bowl with your other salad ingredients. Place desired amount of this mixture onto serving plates.
Remove the chicken from the oven, cut and discard the cooking twine, slice chicken in half and place on plates with the inside of the chicken facing up for effect.
Drizzle the chicken and salad with your hot apricot sauce and finally, garnish with a sprig of mint and some flaked almonds.
Bon Appetit!
Tip: Use leftover mint leaves to make a refreshing tea
The story behind this recipeMarrakech, Morocco was the first ‘non-western’ place I travelled to. I’ll never forget the excitement coupled with uncertainty. The smells of freshly cooked food wafting through the main square, the noise from the souks with the tourists bartering back and forth, the taste of the freshly squeezed orange juice, the maze of tiny, dark alleyways; these things have always remained etched into my memory. This dish is something I created; I modified it from a chicken tagine I had on a day trip out to the Ourika Valley. My boyfriend and I had hired a driver to take us out to see some waterfalls in Setti Fatma. We travelled in an old 1970s dusty coloured Mercedes Benz without seatbelts. It was $50 a day for the driver and car. Bargain! He drops us off, points to a mountain and tells us that the waterfalls are ‘up there’ and that he will meet us in a couple of hours back at the car. So off we go on our own, trying to scale this mountain in 30 degree heat. Halfway up, we pass a Berber selling his wares, he has even carried a table and stereo up this hill and set up shop!
Once we finally make it back down the mountain, we are starving and parched and in dire need of refreshments. We find a restaurant resembling a shack, on the side of a hill and are delighted to find ourselves at an outdoor table overlooking the flowing river. The food is presented in the most humble way. Just couscous, chicken and some bread on a plate however, the savoury and tender meat, mixed with the sweet taste of the apricots and then the mint in the fluffy couscous, creates a major food explosion in your mouth. After that amazing lunch, we are transported back to the Old Medina in Marrakech where at the time, the only place to get a cold beer, or any alcohol, was a hotel frequented by ‘ladies of the night’. We head there and order some beverages. I leave to go get a jumper and my boyfriend is accosted immediately and asked if he would like some 'entertainment for the night' Oh Morocco, I miss thee!
