Jay Ziobrowski
Corporate R&D Chef
Morrison Healthcare

Moroccan-Style Chicken Thigh Bowl Bites

Recipe courtesy of Jay Ziobrowski
Sponsor: National Honey Board

Servings: 4

Ingredients

Chicken:

• 2 Tbsp olive or canola oil
• 1 lb boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 1 tsp black pepper

Sauce:

• ½ c medium dice onion
• 2 Tbsp minced garlic
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 15 oz canned garbanzo beans, drained; liquid reserved
• ½ c white wine
• ¾ c dried apricots, halved lengthwise
• 1 ½ c stuffed queen olives
• 1 c low-sodium chicken stock
• ½ c honey
• 1 c grape tomatoes
• 1 Tbsp plus 1 tsp chopped parsley
• 2 ½ tsp thinly sliced mint
• 1 tsp sliced almonds, toasted

Directions

Chicken:

1. In a skillet on high heat, add the oil and pan-sear the chicken thighs for 6-8 minutes. Flip the chicken and sauté for another 4 minutes. Remove when the chicken reaches 165°F and reserve for later.

Sauce:

1. Using the pan the chicken was cooked in, add the onions, garlic, ginger and garbanzo beans and sauté for 5 minutes.
2. While the onion mixture is cooking, add the reserved garbanzo bean liquid to a small mixing bowl and whisk until frothy, about 3 minutes. (You just made aquafaba!) Reserve for later.
3. Deglaze the onion mixture with the wine. Reduce by half, about 3 minutes.
4. Add the apricots, olives, aquafaba and stock. Stir in the honey and bring the mixture to a boil.
5. Lower the heat, add the cooked chicken thighs and simmer to reduce until the sauce is slightly thickened, 15-20 minutes.
6. While the sauce is thickening, place a small sauté pan over medium heat. Add the grape tomatoes and sauté them for 2–3 minutes. The skins will start to blister.
7. Add the blistered tomatoes to the chicken with 1 Tbsp of the parsley and 1 ½ tsp of the mint and mix well.
8. Serve 1 ½ c olive-apricot mixture topped off with 1 chicken thigh. Add ¼ c of the sauce from the pan to the dish.
9. Garnish with ¼ tsp of parsley, ¼ tsp mint and ¼ tsp almonds.

Chef Notes

Add ½ c of cooked farro pilaf to this dish and make it a meal.

Serve this dish family style as a share plate.

Project Management: Summit F&B
Photography: Carlos Garcia // Food Styling: Peg Blackley