Quarantine Travel Dinner: Morocco
Hi all! I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted, but having a 5 month old while simultaneously dealing with a pandemic is a lot. I’m sure you are all with me and I hope you are all managing well considering.
We basically haven’t left our house since February. With the ability to work from home, a newish baby, and living in the epicenter of the US outbreak, we felt it was our duty to stay home and help flatten the curve. We’ve had two grocery deliveries with my prescriptions, and I’ve greatly tried to limit any ordering.
I should have started with this, but I want to thank every single person on the frontlines. Every nurse, farmer, truck driver, doctor, hospital janitor, delivery person, and all the employees of any essential business open. Thank you. Also, I want to thank everyone for staying home. It’s not easy, but you’re helping as well.
In order to keep spirits high, which is important during times like these, I’ve decided to implement travel dinner themes. Once a week we pick a place to “go”, then I make a reflux friendly meal and set the table inspired by the place we are “traveling to”.
When I posted our first themed meal (which I’ll share our “trip” to the South of France soon), a friend suggested we go to Morocco! Ironically, I purchased a tagine not too long ago and have yet to break it in, so I knew this was our next destination.
If you can’t tell by now or you’re new here, I absolutely love throwing dinner parties. And although I may not be able to have full blown parties now, I’ve enjoyed throwing mini ones for us.
Since I’ve developed reflux and adapted to a low-acid diet, I’ve found it a bit challenging to make meals that everyone will like, but will also be reflux safe for me and this has lead me to creating menu’s safe for everyone!
This week I think I’ve perfected my Moroccan themed dinner menu and I’ve indicated what I added that isn’t reflux safe.
LOW ACID CHICKEN TAGINE
MOROCCAN MENU
Chicken Tagine with Carrots & Apricots
Whole Wheat Couscous
Persian Cucumbers, quartered
Homemade Yogurt mixed with paprika and garnished with parsley
Homemade Low-Acid Hummus
Katamala Olives
Grape Tomatoes
Lemon Wedges (for those without reflux)
Cayenne Pepper (for those without reflux)
Back to the chicken dish. I’ve been thinking about this dish a lot. I recently have discovered that cumin, coriander, and paprika don’t seem to be major triggers for me, which overly excites me and opens up a whole new world of possibilities.
Of course I omit many common reflux triggers like onion, garlic and pepper and you won’t even know they are missing. I’ve made this dish a few times now and it’s SO good!
LOW ACID CHICKEN TAGINE
I N G R E D I E N T S
2 skinless boneless chicken breasts or thighs
Freshly ground salt 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp paprika
1TBS arrowroot powder
2 tsp lemon zest
1 TBS honey
1.5 cups chicken broth
2 TBS chicken broth
3 medium carrots, peeled cut diagonally in 1/4 inch slices
1 cup Turkish apricots
1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cilantro, freshly chopped
I N S T R U C T I O N S
1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Pat chicken dry and season with salt (omit salt if low-sodium).
3. In a large skillet oven heat olive oil over medium-high heat until smoking. Add chicken and brown on each side for about 5 minutes. Transfer to plate.
4. Add carrots to dutch oven and sauté for about 5 minutes.
5. Add cumin, cumin seeds, coriander, paprika and arrowroot powder. Mix and cook for about 1 to 2 minutes and add lemon zest.
6. Deglaze the pan with chicken broth, scraping anything stuck on the bottom of pan and bring just to a boil.
7. Transfer carrots, apricot, and liquid mixture into tagine. Place browned chicken on bed of mixture.
8. Place in oven and cook for about 25-30 minutes for chicken breasts and 30-35 minutes for thighs, or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165F.
9. Remove chicken from oven, add sliced almonds, and garnish with cilantro.
10. Serve with rice, couscous, or potatoes with a dollop of yogurt.
And finally I’ll talk about the table setting. I cut the flowers from my front yard and placed them in the wooden vases. My mother-in-law gave me the beautiful cushion pillows, the plates are from Anthropologie a few years back, the tagine is Emile Henry purchased on Amazon, the gold silverware, and dried flowers are from Target, the wood vases are from World Market, the napkin rings and napkins are Pier 1, and the table runner was from Home Goods. I had everything in the house, I just grabbed things that seemed like they’d work!
I’ll share our dinner menu to the South of France soon, but in the meantime do you have any suggestions on where we should go next or where you think you might “go”?
