Recipe

Farm-raised Chicken Breast With Couscous-eggplant-goat Cheese Stuffing Moroccan Tomato Sauce Spaghetti Squash Red Chard And Green Beans Recipe

	Minitindel / All my dishes 1 year, 5 months ago This is from The Napa Valley , A nice restaurant .there Prep:30m Cook:120m Servings:4	Minitindel
	moroccan chicken

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Ingredients

MOROCCAN TOMATO SAUCE *

2 TBSP olive oil

3 TBSP chopped shallots

3 TBSP chopped garlic

2 pounds tomatoes, coarsely chopped or a 28-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes

1 tsp harissa sauce or to taste, available at specialty stores,

or 1/2 tsp dried red pepper flakes mixed with 1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp raz el hanout or use 1/2 tsp of powdered cumin

sea salt

Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan. Add the shallots and garlic and sauté about 2 to 3

minutes. Add the tomatoes, harissa, raz el hanout and season to taste with salt. Simmer for about

15 minutes or until thickened. Cool for about 5 minutes. Purée in a blender until smooth.

NOTE: Have you ever tasted harissa? It is a hot sauce from North Africa and it is

wonderful on couscous, goulash, Serbian bean soup and steak tartare. I love spicy foods.

Raz el hanout or ras il hanouf is the Moroccan equivalent of Asian five-spice powder or Indian

garam masala. It combines all of the most characteristic spices of the Moroccan cuisine. It

contains a mixture of about ten sweet and savory spices such as cardamom, mace, nutmeg,

cinnamon, allspice, and cloves

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FARM-RAISED CHICKEN BREAST WITH STUFFING *

1/2 cup couscous

2 TBSP olive oil

sea salt

1 cup water

2 TBSP minced shallots

1 TBSP minced garlic

1/2 pound eggplant, cut into 1/4 -inch cubes

1 small red pepper, seeded, cored and diced

1/2 tsp ground cumin

2 TBSP chopped cilantro

2 ounces goat cheese, cut into 1/4-inch cubes

freshly ground black pepper

-----------------------------------------

4 -8-ounce boneless chicken breasts, wings attached (optional), with as much skin as possible left

on.

Put the couscous in a small bowl, add 1 tsp of the olive oil and toss to coat well. Bring 1 cup of

salted water to a boil. Add the couscous, bring back to a boil, and remove from the heat. Cover

and steep for 5 minutes. Uncover, fluff with a fork to separate the grains.

Heat 1 TBSP of the olive oil in a medium sauté pan, add the shallot and garlic and sauté for about

1 minute. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes or until soft. Add the red

pepper and cumin and sauté for about 1 more minute. Remove from the heat, mix with the

couscous, cilantro and goat cheese. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Preheat the oven to 375º F.

Divide the stuffing into 4 portions. Cut a pocket into the thick side of each chicken breast and

stuff it with about half of each portion of stuffing. Put the remaining stuffing under the skin,

pulling and tucking the skin under the breast to smooth and shape. Brush the breast with the

remaining oil and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Roast the chicken breast for 25 to 35 minutes or until cooked through and nicely browned.

Remove from the oven, cover with aluminum foil to keep warm and let rest for 2 to 3 minutes

before serving.

Assembly: Pool some of the Moroccan Tomato Sauce on 4 dinner-size plates. Slice each chicken

breast into 4 or 5 pieces and use a spatula to transfer them to the plates. Mound the spaghetti

squash, red chard and green beans around the chicken.

NOTE: The stuffing keeps these chicken breasts moist while they are cooking and they

look beautiful when sliced. Tossing the couscous with the oil before

cooking is a great trick. It keeps the couscous from sticking together. A farmer in Pennsylvania

raises chickens for a lot of restaurants in napa. They run free in big barns, have access to the outside, drink water from a

well and eat only organic feed with no chemical additives.

Directions

SPAGHETTI SQUASH

1 spaghetti squash, about 3 pounds

1 cup water

2 tsp olive oil

1 TBSP chopped chives or mint

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400º F

Cut the squash in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds. Place the squash, cut-side-down, in a

baking dish. Add the water and bake about 45 minutes, or until you can easily insert the tip of a

knife.

Remove the squash from the oven and, using a fork, scrape out the stringy pulp. It will separate

into spaghetti-like strands. Put the squash into a serving bowl, season with olive oil, chives or

mint, and salt and pepper to taste.

***********************************************

GREEN BEANS & RED CHARD

1/2 pound green beans, washed and strings removed

1 pound green or red chard, washed and stemmed

2 tsp olive oil

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steam the green beans for 4 to 5 minutes or until tender. Taste for doneness. Season to taste with

1 tsp olive oil and salt and pepper. Steam the chard for 2 minutes or until bright green and

softened. Season with the remaining olive oil and salt and pepper to taste.

NOTE: Sometimes you can get orangetti squash, which is an orange-colored spaghetti

squash with a rich yellow color that dramatically contrasts with the dark chard and light green

beans. Chard is a relative of the beet and should be treated as two vegetables-in-one. The stalk

or stem needs to be removed and can be stir-fried or sautéed with olive oil, garlic and other

seasonings such as orange. Cut the leaves in julienne and sauté them in olive oil or steam and

toss them with some olive oil and season with salt and pepper as suggested above for the green

beans and red chard. Chard is high in calcium, iron and Vitamin A. I always feel that I am eating

something earthy and healthy when I have chard or other similar cooked greens.

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Comments

clbacon 1 year, 5 months ago said:
Wowee!!!

lunasea 1 year, 3 months ago said:
This sounds really delicious, Sherry sweetie - thanks so much! *Hugs* ~Vickie

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Viewing Farm-raised Chicken Breast With Couscous-eggplant-goat Cheese Stuffing Moroccan Tomato Sauce Spaghetti Squash Red Chard And Green Beans Recipe