Cosy Moroccan Chicken With Skillet Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

The weather is starting (somewhat) to cool down here in Australia, and as we step into autumn my mind is already thinking about cosy, easy to make midweek meals. That's why I am excited to share my Moroccan Chicken with Skillet Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes. I have been making this dish for years and it's one of our family favourites because it's easy to make and it's packed with flavour.

I am so excited to show you how to make Moroccan chicken! For this recipe, you'll be using a unique blend of Moroccan inspired spices that you'll no doubt have in your pantry at home, including coriander, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper. This dish is not spicy, but it does have a lovely warm hum to it. If you are adverse to any spice, simply take out the cayenne pepper, but I do only use a very small amount. There is nothing more exciting than getting creative and mixing up your own spice blend, which also happens to be very easy and fun to do. Now, you could buy a simple Moroccan spice mix from the supermarket instead of making your own, but I have found these pre-mixed spices are often loaded with unnecessary preservatives.

Now the Moroccan chicken is rich and full of flavour, and I have found that the acidity from roasted tomatoes pairs beautifully. Heirloom tomato season is in full swing here in Australia and I’ve been super inspired by the different shapes, shades and colours of these perfectly imperfect tomatoes. I've used heirloom tomatoes in this recipe but if you can't find nay, that's ok. Roma and Truss tomatoes would also be just as lovely in this dish! To bring all the flavours together, I've made a simple take on the traditional tzatziki, using only Greek yoghurt, parsley, lemon juice, salt and pepper. There is just something super sweet, and spicy, and zingy about combining all of these ingredients together that I dare you not to lick your plate when you're done!

Moroccan Chicken With Skillet Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes

Servings

2

Prep Time

15 minutes

Cook Time

40 minutes

The weather is starting (somewhat) to cool down here in Australia, and as we step into autumn my mind is already thinking about cosy, easy to make midweek meals. 

That's why I am excited to share my Moroccan Chicken with Skillet Roasted Heirloom Tomatoes. I have been making this dish for years and it's one of our family favourites because it's easy to make and it's packed with flavour.

Ingredients

• Skillet Roasted Tomatoes

• 650g heirloom tomatoes

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• Flaky sea salt and cracked pepper, to season

• Moroccan Chicken

• 4 chicken thighs 

• 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

• 1 tsp dried coriander leaves

• 2 tsp paprika

• 2 tsp cayenne pepper

• 1 tsp turmeric

• 2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 1 tsp flaky sea salt 

• 1 tsp cracked pepper 

• 50g salted butter 

• Simple Tzatziki

• 1 cup Greek yoghurt

• Half bunch parsley, roughly chopped

• 1 lemon, juiced 

• Flaky sea salt and cracked pepper, to season 

Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 250C.

2. Place your tomatoes and olive oil into a skillet, season with salt and pepper, and toss around with your hands to generously coat the tomatoes.

3. Place your tomatoes into the oven for 20 minutes.

4. While your tomatoes are roasting, you can start cooking the Moroccan chicken. Place chicken thighs into a large bowl and coat in olive oil. 

5. In a small bowl, mix your spices (dried coriander, paprika, cayenne pepper and turmeric), garlic, sea salt and cracked pepper. Sprinkle your spice mix over your chicken and toss the chicken gently around with your hands to ensure the spice mix generously covers all of the chicken. Set aside. 

6. In a medium bowl, combine the Greek yoghurt, parsley and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Set aside in the fridge.

7. After your heirloom tomatoes have been roasting in the oven for 20 minutes, drop the heat in the oven down to 180C and roast the heirloom tomatoes for a further 20 minutes.

8. Bring a fry pan to medium high heat on your stovetop. When the fry pan is ready, melt butter then add your spiced chicken thighs smooth side down. Sear for about 5 minutes (or until you can easily flip them over), and then flip the chicken and sear for a further 6 minutes. Remove the pan off the heat when the chicken is cooked through. Leave the chicken in the pan and set aside. 

9. Take the roasted heirloom tomatoes out of the oven. Place the cooked chicken thighs in between the tomatoes and pour the residual liquid from the fry pan (where you cooked your chicken) over the chicken and tomatoes. Serve straight away with a generous dollop of the Simple Tzatziki.

An extra note:

• Some extra tips! 

  • A large fry pan can easily fit 4 chicken thighs.

  • Do not move the chicken thighs around in your fry pan as this will affect how they are cooked, and they may not cook through evenly and consistently. Let them cook for 5 minutes, then flip them over.

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