Moroccan-Style Chicken and Lentils

My mouth started watering when I read this recipe in Bon Appétit a couple years ago, and I fixed it for dinner the next day. Because we had no brown lentils on hand, I used a bag of red lentils from the pantry. I had what I initially thought was a flop when the red lentils turned into a mixture with the consistency of watery pureed potatoes. I wasn’t too worried since this was not being served to guests, so I just skimmed off the excess water and stirred in some of the dressing. What started as a flop eventually turned into our standard way of fixing the lentils, and this dish has become a permanent fixture in our kitchen. I cut the amount of water for cooking the lentils in half, and they became that we think is amazing comfort food.

We love the dressing, and I usually double the recipe and pour it over the chicken right in the skillet. I’ve made a few other changes to the dressing, such as reducing the amount of olive oil and adding the cinnamon.

You can have this ready in 30 to 45 minutes if you work on the chicken while the lentils are cooking.

Equipment

3 quart pot
12 inch nonstick skillet
sharp knife

Ingredients

DRESSING
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt

LENTILS
4 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1 pound red lentils, rinsed, drained

CHICKEN
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 pounds skinless boneless chicken breast halves, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup chopped fresh parsley (garnish)

Preparation

1. Dressing: Add the olive oil, vinegar, cumin, chili powder, garlic, cinnamon, and salt to a blender bottle or jar with a tight lid. Shake until ingredients are well combined. Set aside.

2. Lentils: Combine water and salt in heavy large saucepan over high heat. Add lentils; bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until lentils are tender and have absorbed the water completely, about 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 3 or 4 tablespoons of the dressing.

3. Chicken: Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in large skillet over high heat. Add onion and sauté until dark brown and soft, about 5 minutes. Add chicken and sauté 2 minutes. Add salt, cumin, chili powder, and cinnamon. Sauté until chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.

4. Place a serving of lentils on a plate and cover with sliced chicken and dressing. Garnish with chopped parsley.

Variations

We often pour the dressing over the chicken after it’s finished cooking in the skillet and let it sit for a few minutes.

I have substituted apple cider vinegar when I had no red wine vinegar in the pantry, and it turned out very nice with a slightly sweet twist.

Resources

Wikipedia – Lentils

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Source: adapted from Bon Appétit, January 2004