13 May Roasted Moroccan Chicken with Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Cilantro

Roasted Moroccan Chicken With Tomatoes, Chickpeas and Cilantro

This is my go-to recipe when I have guests. It takes about 30 minutes of prep-time and 30 minutes in the oven. It’s very flavorful, healthy, and looks beautiful of the table. When I find recipes online or in magazines, I usually change them significantly to make them more healthy, but I’ve only altered this recipe slightly from its original version. By the way, this is one of my favorite dishes.

Yields: 4 servings (serving size: 1 chicken breast, 1 cup tomatoes and chickpeas)

Total time: 45 minutes

Preheat oven to 450°F

INGREDIENTS:

4 chicken breasts (with skin and bone)

10 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

8 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

2 teaspoons sweet paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

3 teaspoons salt (divided)

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes

1 cup Greek yogurt (This is for the yogurt sauce. I don’t eat this, but my kids love it)

3 cups grape tomatoes

1 -1/2 cans chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed

2 cups fresh cilantro (divided)

PREPARATION:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together oil, smoked paprika, sweet paprika, cumin, 1 teaspoon salt, pepper and crushed red pepper.

2. Transfer one tablespoon of the seasoned oil above into a small bowl and whisk in the yogurt. Sprinkle with a few sprigs of cilantro and set aside until serving.

3. Place chicken, skin-side up, on a rimmed baking sheet. Using about 1 tablespoon per chicken breast, rub all over and between skin and meat with the seasoned oil.

4. Add tomatoes, chickpeas and half of the cilantro to the remaining oil. Stir to coat. Pour onto the baking sheet around the chicken. Turn to coat the chicken in any extra oil. Make sure to keep the skin-side up for roasting. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt.

5. Roast chicken in oven about 30 minutes or until done. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and spoon the beans and tomatoes over. Garnish with remaining cilantro and serve with yogurt sauce.

I serve this with couscous. Easy. Beautiful. Healthy.

Side note: just because you cook this chicken with the skin on, does NOT mean you have to eat the skin. The skin keeps the breast from drying out during the cooking process. If you want to make this healthy dish even healthier, peel the skin off before eating. Remember, you’ve rubbed the flavored oil underneath the skin as well prior to cooking it, so even without the fatty skin, this chicken is FULL of flavor.

Live Young,

Darnell 🙂