Moroccan Chicken Stew without a Tagine

This low carb Moroccan chicken thighs recipe packs a lot of complex flavor into a one-pot meal.  It is traditionally made in a specifically designed shallow clay cooking dish with a tall conical lid, known as a “tagine”, but it’s quite simple to make in a dutch oven or large covered pot. Sometimes this dish is referred around the web as a keto chicken tagine.

Jump to: RECIPE | Moroccan Spice Blends | Illustrated Steps | Dump Stews vs Layered Stews | More Moroccan Recipes

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Moroccan Spice Blends

The spice combinations are what really distinguish Moroccan dishes, turning ordinary dishes into something truly special.  

This “stew” includes harissa paste along with a range of Moroccan dry spices. Harissa includes several different chile peppers which are up to the cook’s discretion, but the trio of ”cumin, coriander and caraway” spices are the traditional spice medley (many include cinnamon also)

 Instead of the harissa paste you can make your own powdered spice blend (recipe is in the Notes section of the recipe below).

If you are making your own spice blends, it does make a difference to buy the spices as whole seeds, give them a quick toast in a dry frying pan and then grind fresh in a coffee grinder. You will definitely notice the difference.

Ingredients for Moroccan Chicken Stew

Most of the ingredients are readily available. The only key ingredient that might be a little difficult to find is the harissa. The recipe includes a DIY harissa spice blend that you can use instead of the paste.

Fennel is easy enough to find in most grocery stores (but not Walmart). If you have trouble finding fresh fennel, just grind up some fennel seeds and use the ground fennel instead. It will enhance the flavor quite a bit however, if you lightly toast the fennel seeds first before grinding.

Illustrated Steps:

This is really a very easy dish to make with a lot of unique flavor. The recipe is detailed in the recipe card below, but here are a few pictures to further illustrate the individual steps.

One Pot “Dump” Stews vs Layered Stews

I have likened this low carb Moroccan stew to a “dump” type of recipe where you just toss everything into a pot after the chicken is browned and turn on the heat for an hour.  Not the most appealing phrase, but it speaks to the ease of this dish.

If you are the type of cook that likes to spend some time bringing out the full flavor of each ingredient you may want to layer the ingredients into the pot after browning or sauteing them one by one.

This layering approach takes a little longer, but it brings out the flavor of the individual spices more thoroughly. An example of layering would be this Basque Chicken and Chorizo dish:

Similar Moroccan Dishes

Probably my favorite Moroccan recipe is a North African beef and sweet potato stew. I love anything with sweet potatoes and this stew is awesome!

This North African Shakshouka (baked eggs) has become somewhat trendy as of late and you will find many versions of it on the internet (as well as my version).

Lastly this South African Bobotie (meat pie) is a recipe that is more unique and a little more complicated than a stew. I made it everyday for a week trying to get the recipe the way I wanted it. Needless to say my husband got pretty darn tired of ”that bobotie”.

Low Carb Moroccan Chicken Thighs

A robust stew made with chicken thighs, harissa and a range of Moroccan spices.

4.70 from 13 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Servings 5

Calories 649

Author Dorothy Stainbrook

Equipment

• Dutch oven

Ingredients

1x2x3x

• 2 ½ lbs. chicken thighs and/or legs About 6 thighs
• salt & pepper
• 1 Tablespoon olive oil
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 3 Cups chicken stock
• 3 Tablespoon Harissa paste or 2 tablespoons harissa spice blend
• 1 Tablespoon ground cumin toasted and freshly ground
• 1 Teaspoon turmeric optional
• 1-2 fresh lemons cut into wedges
• 8 garlic cloves slightly smashed
• ½ Cup coarsley chopped fennel bulb can se 1-2 tablespoons ground fennel
• 1 onion coarsley chopped or 2 leeks, white part only, sliced
• ¾ Cup black olives
• 1-2 inches ginger root grated
• 1 Cup fresh mint leaves
• ½ Cup dried apricots optional

Instructions

 

• Heat oil and butter in dutch oven (or large skillet). Salt and pepper chicken thighs and brown in the hot oil (skin side down). Remove chicken thighs and drain some of the oil out of the pot.
  2 1/2 lbs. chicken thighs and/or legs, salt & pepper, 1 Tablespoon olive oil, 1 Tablespoon butter
• Add all of the remaining ingredients except mint into the pot and stir together thoroughly. Reduce heat to a low simmer and add back in the chicken. Tear up about 1/2 cup mint and add to the pot. Cover and simmer for about an hour.
  3 Cups chicken stock, 3 Tablespoon Harissa paste, 1 Tablespoon ground cumin, 1 Teaspoon turmeric, 1-2 fresh lemons, 8 garlic cloves, 1/2 Cup coarsley chopped fennel bulb, 1 onion, 3/4 Cup black olives, 1-2 inches ginger root, 1 Cup fresh mint leaves, 1/2 Cup dried apricots
• Just before taking the pot to the table, scatter the remaining mint leaves over the chicken.
  1 Cup fresh mint leaves

Notes

**DIY Harissa Spice Blend:

Mix together:

• 2 parts powdered chile peppers (mixed hot and sweet peppers)
• 1 part cumin (toasted seeds & then ground)
• 1 part coriander (toasted & ground)
• 1 part caraway (toasted & ground
• 1 part salt
• 1/2 part cinnamon

Nutrition

Calories: 649kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 41gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 13gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gMonounsaturated Fat: 21gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 231mgSodium: 738mgPotassium: 803mgFiber: 3gSugar: 4gVitamin A: 785IUVitamin C: 20mgCalcium: 91mgIron: 4mg

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