Friends?  Confession.

I’m kinda one of Those People.

Those People who have a thing about people laying down on their unmade beds with the same jeans they happened to wear out into the world all day.

Just the thought turns me into an eye-ticking germaphobe.  Maybe it’s the years of riding public transportation but it skeeves me out like no other.

The way I see it, you never know what your butt has been in.

Yup.  I’m one of Those People who can’t possibly watch a movie with foreign accents in it and not repeat back every single word.

I’m pretty sure this is highly annoying to those around me.

It’s not that I’m trying to be rude or like the sound of my voice, it’s just that accents fascinate me.  But this fascination drives my poor loved ones nuts and for that I sincerely apologize.

I’m also one of Those People who’s become kinda obsessed with having their own three-bird flock of egg-laying hens someday.

Forget the fact that they also kind of scare me and remind me of dinosaurs, but the idea of waking up to my own eggs every morning totally makes it worth it … I think.

I’m one of Those People who check out dozens of library books at a time, max out their renewals, and never get to reading half of them.

This isn’t an exaggeration.  That library book you want?  I probably have it.

I even forget that I have them, which is hard to believe considering that they lay like teetering booby traps all over our apartment waiting for me to break my legs on them.  But hey, I never know when I might need that book on chickens.

I’m also one of Those People who can’t possibly be within a 2-mile radius of a dog and not comment on what type of breed it is.

And true fact:  I can name them all.

Part challenge and part left-over from my (continued) obsession of dogs from when I was a kid, this is also usually followed by squeals of delight.

I’m sure both equally impressive and also highly annoying to those around me.

And I’m definitely one of Those People who loves warm and savory anything.

Some people are Ice Cream People.  Some are Chocolate People.  I am Warm and Savory People.  Those are My People.

Don’t be fooled by the fancy word, this Moroccan Chicken Tagine is for Those People and for anyone really, that loves a warm, savory stew with layers upon layers of flavor.

Served over fluffy couscous and just the thing for one of those chilly nights, this stew is all savory goodness and 100% delicious.

Does it take a bit of work?  Yes.  But we’re not talking your run-of-the-mill soup here.  And besides, when can you say you’ve made tagine?  You will now.

And it’s so totally worth the effort.

Be one of Those People and you’ll be really, really glad you did.

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Vegetables over Couscous

Adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz

Makes 4-6 large servings

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large sweet onion, quartered and thinly sliced
1 cup baby carrots, cut into 1/4 inch slices
1/2 Serrano or Jalapeno chile pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped (be careful not to touch white inside or seeds)
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
3 cups organic chicken stock
2 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 whole cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
Several dashes of freshly ground black pepper
1 – 15 oz. can garbanzo beans
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 pounds organic boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch-thick slices and liberally seasoned with salt and pepper on both sides
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup raisins
1 teaspoon sea salt
4 cups baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint, chopped
2-5 dashes of hot sauce like Sriracha or Tabasco, to taste (optional)
Box of plain couscous
Lemon wedges to serve

Heat a large skillet over medium heat until hot and drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil.  Add onions and saute until soft and just starting to brown.

Next, add carrots and chile pepper and saute for approximately 5 minutes.

Remove skillet from heat and add garlic powder, ginger, cumin, turmeric, and coriander.  Mix well.  Transfer mixture to large stock pot, place back onto heat, and add stock, water, tomato paste, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black pepper, and garbanzo beans.  Bring to boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for approximately 15-20 minutes.

While stew is simmering, heat large, clean skillet over medium-high heat until smoking, drizzle in extra-virgin olive oil, and very carefully add chicken breast pieces to skillet.

Note:  Olive oil may splatter, so be careful when adding chicken pieces to hot skillet.

Sear pieces on one side for approximately 3 minutes, then turn, and sear for another 3 minutes on other side.  Transfer chicken pieces to simmering stew and fold into mixture.

Add zucchini, cherry tomatoes, raisins, and sea salt to stew and allow to simmer for another 10-15 more minutes.

Add spinach, cilantro, and mint and fold well into stew.  Turn heat off and allow stew to sit for 10 minutes.

While stew is sitting, prepare couscous according to box instructions.

Just before serving, taste stew and adjust salt and pepper, to taste.  Add 2-5 dashes of hot sauce as well if you’d like more heat to your stew.

Serve over plain couscous with lots of lemon wedges to squeeze in.

Enjoy!

Related articles

• Moroccan Chicken Stew (spoonful.com)
• Best Moroccan Recipes (moroccotomorrow.org)
• A Taste of Morocco (earthdrifter.com)