Moroccan Chicken and Bird-poo.

Hello.

When I asked Stuart to do a guest post, I expected a little blurb on the traditional crafting of scotches.  Or the importance of sanitation in home brewing.  Perhaps even a paragraph or two on the protestant reformation.  What I did not expect was a post that challenged social media and modern sexism...

...and also made me laugh to the point of wetting my pants.

That being said, I hope you enjoyed his sarcastic, dry humor as much as I.

Now then, back to business. 

I have a new recipe for you today (another golden one from Nourishing Traditions!). I've made this recipe three times already. The first time, it was so delicious that I almost ate it all before Stuart came home from school - literally.

Thinking it must have been a fluke, I made it a second time. Again, I was baffled by its deliciousness.

The third time, it was equally exquisite; thus, earning itself a permanent place on the Elliott Homestead's rotating menu. Welcome to the family, Moroccan Chicken.

 

Moroccan Chicken
Side note: Forgive my continual lack of the "during" photographs. Getting dinner made with a baby on my hip is all I can muster at moments. 

You will need:
 - 1 whole fryer chicken, cut into pieces OR 8 chicken thighs OR 8 chicken legs OR 4 chicken breasts - or heck, whatever chicken pieces you like.
 - 1/4 cup naturally fermented soy sauce
 - 1/4 dry white wine
 - 2 tablespoons raw honey
 - Juice of 2 lemons
 - Grated zest of 2 lemons
 - 1 clove garlic, minced
 - 1 teaspoons curry powder (or paste)
 - 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
 - 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
 - 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
 - 3 tablespoons melted butter
 - 2 cups chicken stock

Step One: Mix your marinade! Combine the soy sauce, wine, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and spices together. Marinade your chicken in this overnight or at least for a few hours. 

Step Two: After marinading, remove the chicken from this and pat dry with a paper towel. RESERVE THE MARINADE!!!! Then, brush your chicken with the melted butter. This will help it to get nice and brown when we bake it! Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Step Three: Bake the chicken at 375 for roughly two hours. Keep an eye on it - when it starts to look very golden, it's done.

 

Step Four: While the chicken is baking, combine the reserved marinade and the chicken stock in a pan. Bring to a boil and allow the sauce to reduce by half. This sauce is your golden ticket. Don't mess with the sauce, man.

Step Five: Dish up, baby! I serve the chicken with fresh basmati rice. Bed of rice, nicely browned chicken, and a big ladle of Moroccan sauce. 

Might I peer-pressure, I mean, force, I mean, encourage you to try this recipe?

Even Georgia loves it. So that's gotta mean something, right?

Actually, not really. She loves everything. Especially me. And bananas.

On a different note, I am working on purchasing a quarter of a steer! Which means that we can eat more red meat on the homestead - I am truly excited. Not that I don't love chicken, but sometimes, girlfriend's just gotta tear into a steak. Hopefully, someday, we will get back to raising our own. But until we move, it just ain't gunna happen (regulations on farm animals being within a certain distance of the orchards).

Honestly, who cares if a steer (or chickens!) are raised next to orchards? What are they worried about?

The food getting dirty?

The chickens eating the bugs?

The steer grazing the grass?

The poo-poo?

Ah yes, that's right. The pesticides they spray are much safer than the poo from chickens. Thank you, trusty government, for saving us from ourselves once again (thank you in advance for picking up on my sarcasm). Not to mention, birds poo all the time in the orchards. So the joke's on them! HA!

I apologize for talking about Moroccan Chicken and bird poo in the same post.

Good day.

For other great meal ideas, no matter what your dietary restrictions, check out the meal planning service I use: Real Plans.

Moroccan Chicken

• 1 whole fryer chicken, cut into pieces (OR 8 chicken thighs OR 8 chicken legs OR 4 chicken breasts – or heck, whatever chicken pieces you like.)
• ¼ cup naturally fermented soy sauce
• ¼ cup dry white wine
• 2 tbsp raw honey
• Juice of 2 lemons
• Grated zest of 2 lemons
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp curry powder (or paste)
• ¼ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp melted butter
• 2 cups chicken stock

1. Mix your marinade! Combine the soy sauce, wine, honey, lemon juice, lemon zest, garlic, and spices together. Marinade your chicken in this overnight or at least for a few hours. 

2. After marinading, remove the chicken from this and pat dry with a paper towel. RESERVE THE MARINADE!!!! Then, brush your chicken with the melted butter. This will help it to get nice and brown when we bake it! Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

3. Bake the chicken at 375 for roughly two hours. Keep an eye on it – when it starts to look very golden, it's done.

4. While the chicken is baking, combine the reserved marinade and the chicken stock in a pan. Bring to a boil and allow the sauce to reduce by half. This sauce is your golden ticket. Don't mess with the sauce, man.

5.  Dish up, baby! I serve the chicken with fresh basmati rice. Bed of rice, nicely browned chicken, and a big ladle of Moroccan sauce.