* Moroccan Style Chicken Stew

This Moroccan Style Chicken Stew was one of those "bung it all in and hope it works" recipes... that worked. Well of course it did - I don't feed you lot any old horse manure, do I?

The stuff that doesn't work, gets spoken about in an aside. I don't give it a recipe title, a picture and a page of blurb - I give it to the dog.

This time, I had half a jar of Harissa Paste that needed using up (something always needs using up), or this might have ended up as something completely different - without the chickpeas and the sultanas. I had thought that I'd got a packet of dried-ready-to-eat-apricots sitting in the back of the cupboard that I could make use of instead of the sultanas.... and I sort of did... but I'm fairly sure that apricots are supposed to be a pale orange in colour - not blue and furry and beginning to evolve - so I ditched that idea, along with the apricots.

It was lovely anyway, with a huge bowl of unfussy couscous and a generous glass (or two) of wine.

Neil enjoyed it, because it had chicken in it. He's really starting to notice when a meal is vegetarian just recently. I had some Butternut and Bell Pepper Curry left over in the freezer, and he guilted me out so much about the lack of meat that I grilled a chicken breast and chucked it into his when I used it up.

I almost regretted it when he gave me an "Atta girl!" upon spying it in his curry. I told him if he slapped my backside and called me a wench he'd be wearing his dinner. Not eating it.

He got the hint.

Dinner was a quiet affair that night.

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Moroccan Style Chicken Stew Recipe

Serves 4

Prep time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 25 - 30 minutes
Total time - 35 - 40 minutes

You will need
A skillet/frying pan

Ingredients

1 tbsp rapeseed oil
1 onion - chopped

2 sticks celery - chopped
1 garlic clove - crushed
3 tbsp Harissa Paste
4 skinless chicken breasts - chopped
150ml  chicken stock

400g can chopped tomatoes
400g can chickpeas - drained
Large handful of sultanas
Small bunch coriander - chopped

Few sprigs of mint for garnish.

Method

• Heat the oil in the pan and fry the onion and celery for about 3 minutes.
• Stir in the garlic, harissa paste and chicken and cook until the chicken has lost it's pinkness - about 3 minutes.
• Pour in the chicken stock, tomatoes and chickpeas - simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the sultanas - simmer for a further 5 minutes.
• Stir in the chopped coriander, garnish with mint.
• Serve with couscous or rice (and a HUGE glass of Chardonnay).

EAT

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