I went out to dinner recently at a restaurant that has an ever-changing menu. I ordered the roasted half-chicken and it came with some unexpected sides and garnishes. A yogurt swirl, dollop of baba ganoush, a smear of hummus, crunchy chick peas. It was a gourmet meal and I thought about it for days. I wondered why we weren't adding little dollops of things to our plates. It's very easy to do! Start by making some kind of tasty protein like these Morroccan-spiced chicken thighs. Then add a couple of store-bought ingredients and a couple of homemade toppings.
What is ras el hanout?
Ras el hanout is a spice mix found in Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. In Arabic it translates to "head of the shop" in reference to the spices being top shelf - the best the shop has to offer.
The ras el hanout available in stores can vary in flavor, but the three I've tried were from Whole Foods and two I got online at Amazon. The Amazon brands were "The Spice Way" and "Cerez Pazari." I used the ras el hanout from Whole Foods for this recipe. However, if I had to choose between the three brands, the very first one I tried on Amazon - Cerez Pazari ras el hanout - was my favorite.
So what's in it?!?! Right, so the spice mix can contain cardamom, cumin, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, dried ginger, peppercorn, paprika, fenugreek, and tumeric. The brands available differ, most likely, because different proportions of the spices are used for the mix. Whichever Ras el Hanout you use, I have another great recipe for Moroccan-spiced phyllo meat pie as well. This way you didn't buy ras el hanout to make just one thing. This spice is also used in a Moroccan chicken pie (pastilla) that is too die for. I don't have that recipe on my site yet... but stay tuned.
skip the rice and Potatoes: try yogurt and hummus
Sometimes we have to think outside the plate for a minute... the structure of it all. Chicken, rice, vegetable... or steak, potatoes, vegetable. What not a smattering of things to choose from?
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For this Moroccan-spiced chicken thighs dish - I opted for steamed broccolini as an easily steamable side. I used store-bought hummus and whole milk yogurt as my effortless dollops. But then I wanted to add that crunch factor and a little tang to the dish as well. That's where the roasted chickpeas and pickled red onions come into play.
adding a crunch factor to your entree
If you're a regular reader of my website, which of course you are, you will know I recently posted a crunchy roasted chickeas-3 ways recipe. I wouldn't have thought of using this as a garnish if I hadn't been to that restaurant with the incredible half-roasted chicken. I LOVED that the crunchy little chickpeas were sort of popping in my mouth with each bite.
I've made roasted chickpeas a lot lately and I've been loving snacking on them. For me, if I don't make these as my crunchy little...something I will eat a whole bag of Cape Cod potato chips. And as it turns out, these little chickpeas are awesome as an entree garnish, salad topping, or to just graze on when you're getting a little hangry.
Bobby Flay's pickled red onions
These Moroccan-spiced chicken thighs are an easy weeknight dinner. They're an excellent option when you want to make something that isn't too time consuming. I had the roasted chickpeas on hand and I also had a jar of Bobby Flay's pickled red onions in my fridge. You will often find jars of these pickled red onions in my fridge. The more I make them, the more I find ways to incorporate them into my meals.
moroccan-spiced chicken thighs: trim the fat first
Hey, so you know how chicken thighs have a ton of fat? I know some of you may even avoid chicken thighs altogether because of the fat. For me, I love the dark meat too much to give it up. That's way I always take a few extra minutes to trim the fat from chicken thighs. All you need is a good pair of kitchen shears ($10-12 on Amazon or wherever) and you can eliminate most of that fat. I actually made a great little tutorial on how to trim the fat from chicken thighs. If you have the time, you should check it out. I walk you through the whole process - especially how to get all that hidden fat underneath.
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Moroccan-Spiced Chicken Thighs with Yogurt and Hummus
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 portions 1x
Description
These Moroccan-spiced chicken thighs with yogurt, hummus and pickled red onions are a must-have for your dinner rotation. So yum!
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon of Ras el hanout spice
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cup whole milk yogurt, more if you want
- 1 cup hummus, any kind, more if you want
- 1 cup Bobby Flay’s pickled red onions
- 1 cup crunchy roasted chick peas
- 2 tablespoons chopped parsley or cilantro for garnish
NOTE: prep and cook time does not include making the pickled red onions and roasted chick peas ahead.
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Instructions
- For Bobby Flay’s pickled red onions you can make these a few days ahead and the roasted chick peas you can make the day before.
- Start by trimming the fat from the chicken thighs. Trim the obvious flaps of fat first, then trim the fat from the underside as well. It might be helpful to watch my how to trim the fat from chicken thighs video. It walks you through the best techniques.
- Mix salt, ras el hanout and olive oil in a bowl.
- Transfer trimmed chicken thighs to a large bowl and add the ras el hanout mixture. Toss chicken to coat and massage the rub into all the chicken. Place chicken in parchment paper-lined 9x13 baking dish and cook in pre-heated oven at 400 degrees for one hour. You could also add some sliced onions and smashed garlic to the bottom of the baking dish and put the chicken on top of the onions.
- While the chicken is cooking, chop the parsley or cilantro for the garnish and prepare the ramekins with yogurt and hummus if you’re serving on a platter like in my video.
- You can make whatever veggies or salad you want on the side. I did a simple steamed broccolini that worked great!
Notes
- I wrote about three different brands of ras el hanout in the blog post. I purchased two on Amazon and one from whole foods. The one I purchased at Whole Foods is the one I used for this recipe. My favorite, with the best flavor in my opinion, was the Amazon brand "Cerez Pazari."
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