Moroccan Spicy Chicken and Coconut Cilantro Rice

Here I am in the middle of studying for finals and facing a major event filled weekend at Fresno State.....And I am offering a very cool blog for your dining pleasure. Tonight I went a little exotic.

Tonight's dinner took approximately 1 hour from start to finish and had amazing flavor. It was a cinch but there are some items that you need to either have on hand or prep ahead of time (speaking of coconut and preserved lemon).

1 c brown rice
2 c water

Cook as directed and set aside

1/2 a bunch of cilantro with the stems removed and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, crushed
1/2 c toasted coconut flakes, packed
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and pepper

Whirl cilantro, garlic and oil in a food processor. Remove from processor and fold in coconut. Stir in cilantro coconut mixture in to rice and add salt and pepper. Set aside until chicken is done.

In a cast iron (my favorite) Dutch oven (thanks Mom and Dad for actually getting me something "odd" for my birthday, per my request), brown 1 chopped onion, 5 cloves of crushed garlic, 1 chopped red bell pepper in 3 table spoons olive oil. Add 4 boneless chicken thighs and brown. Sprinkle liberally with cumin, turmeric and cracked black pepper. Add ground sea salt to taste and a couple of shakes of Maggie or soy sauce. Stir in 1/2 c preserved lemons (see prior blog post on Meyers lemons), chopped and stir. Add 1/2 c water and cover. Cook for 10 minutes. Add in 2 sliced zucchini and cover completely with the sauce. Cook for an additional 5 minutes at a medium heat. Serve along side the cilantro coconut rice.

Simply fabulous!!