Moroccan Chicken Stew

This recipe is both an "-ish" and a MacGuyver. I don't claim that it's actually Moroccan; I simply rummaged through the spice cabinet and added anything that seemed vaguely north African. I don't know how authentic the other ingredients are either. I was just using up some random stuff I had laying around. That being said, it turned into a very tasty and fast meal!

The pictures that I took of the finished product came out horribly, so I won't post any.

1 medium onion, finely sliced into half moons
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium potato, unpeeled and cut into 1/2 inch dice
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons raisins
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
3 cardamom pods, slightly crushed
1 bay leaf
Salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon cornstarch

Warm up the olive oil in a deep sided pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions to the pan and saute until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in the coriander, cumin, turmeric, and a few healthy shakes of salt and pepper and stir to coat the onions with the spices. Toss in the potatoes, garlic, and raisins. Pour the chicken broth over everything and crank the heat to bring it up to a boil. Add the cardamom pods and bay leaf then cover the pan with a lid. Bring the heat down to low and let simmer for ten minutes.

Season the chicken breast chunks well with salt and pepper. After the pan has simmered for ten minutes, add the chicken and stir. Place the lid back on the pan and let it simmer for another ten minutes. When the time is up, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Fish out the cardamom pods and bay leaf. Dissolve the cornstarch in an equal amount of water to make a slurry. Pour into the pan to thicken the sauce and let it bubble away for another minute.

Serve the stew over freshly made couscous or white rice.

Rating: This is awesome

I never post without pictures, but I still wanted to write up this one so I wouldn't forget it. It was that good!