Moroccan Chicken, Apricot and Olive Relish

One of the advantages of cooking our recipes is that you will experience dishes and flavors you may never have otherwise tried. Perhaps something that would challenge your palate, something with bold new flavors never tried before. This chicken, apricots and olives qualifies as a delicious change of taste.

Ingredients

• Herbie's Paprika Smoked (Sweet)  ·  1/2 teaspoon 
• Herbie's Cumin Seed (ground)  ·  1 teaspoon 
• Herbie's Cayenne Pepper  ·  1/8 teaspoon 
• Herbie's Coriander Seed (ground) Australian  ·  1/2 teaspoon 
• honey  ·  1/4 cup 
• canola oil, plus 1 tablespoon  ·  1/4 cup 
• fresh lemon juice  ·  3 tablespoons 
• fresh ginger, grated  ·  2 teaspoons 
• garlic clove, minced  ·  1 
• kosher salt  ·  1 teaspoon 
• freshly ground pepper  ·  1/4 teaspoon 
• chicken thighs on the bone, with skin (2 3/4 pounds)  ·  8 
• dried apricots, each diced into 8 pieces  ·  1 cup 
• medium shallots, thinly sliced  ·  2 
• green olives, such as Cerignola or Picholine, pitted (1/2 cup)  ·  20 
• chopped cilantro  ·  2 tablespoons 

Instructions

The grilled chicken and spices provide the sweet-savory elements of a Moroccan tagine for a light meal and the honey caramelizes on the grill, resulting is extra-crispy chicken. 

This recipe is only a little time-intensive and makes use of several of our fresh Herbie's spices.  You need to make a marinade and then marinate for two hours, which can be done ahead of time.  The chicken is cooked first in the oven and then finished on the grill, The relish is made on the stove top.  All the steps are easy enough, but still require active cooking time, so open a bottle of our wine and cook it with friends gathered around in the kitchen.

In a bowl, whisk the honey with 1/4 cup of the canola oil and the lemon juice, grated ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, smoked paprika, cayenne, salt and pepper.  Arrange the chicken in a glass baking dish. Pour the marinade on top and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 2 hours, turning once.

Preheat the oven to 400°. Drain the chicken and transfer to a rimmed baking sheet; reserve the marinade. Cover with foil and bake for about 35 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the foil and discard any juices from the baking sheet.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, pour boiling water over the apricots to cover and let stand until plump, 8 minutes; drain.

In a skillet, heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the shallots and cook over moderate heat until softened, 6 minutes. Add the apricots, olives and the reserved marinade and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderately high heat until the marinade is thickened and glazes the apricots and olives, 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.

Light a grill or preheat a grill pan. Grill the chicken over moderately high heat, turning once, until charred in spots and the skin is crisp, 6 minutes. Transfer to plates, top with the apricot-olive relish and serve with a side of mashed potato or couscous accompanied by a Williamson Pinot Noir.