I thought this dish was particularly well suited for a wonderful summer meal. Like many of my recipes there is a story behind it of course. Some recipes are tied to my childhood – mon enfance, ma jeunesse – growing up in Paris; others originate from those wonderful vacations at the family house in Brittany where my mother and Simone our wonderful housekeeper and famous cook, would put meals on the table that would rival some of the famous restaurants in Paris. On that point, there was never any doubt. Other recipes come from people I have had the good fortune to run into during my travels, including my most colorful of friends, Luc, who by know, most readers know, was with the French Foreign Legion. Luc has four fingers on one hand the  missing one has never been completely explained to my satisfaction or perhaps my curiosity.  I call him Beau Geste as I could very well imagine him in another time manning the parapets and gazing out at the Saharan desert. Maybe throw in Gary Cooper for good measure? How many times has he shown me how to neatly cut a person’s throat? In any event, Luc traveled to some interesting places in world on even more interesting assignments. I leave it at that, or I fear Luc will set the record straight, personally and with me. A Moroccan chicken dish very much like the one below was served to me by Luc, a self-style cordon bleu cook in his spare time. It was at a Tangier food market that he first tasted this succulent dish.  Luc served it up with plenty of chilled white wine and a bottle or two of Rose just to be on the safe side. 

Moroccan Chicken

Adapted in part from Saveur Magazine, 2010
(serves 6)
Ingredients:
6 boneless skin-on chicken breasts, pounded 3⁄4″ thick
16 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 cups chicken broth
2 lbs. carrots, cut into 1⁄4″ rounds
1 large white onion, minced
1 1⁄2    cups fresh orange juice
4 tbsp. unsalted butter
2 peeled oranges, segmented
3⁄4 cup plus 2 tsp. harissa*
2 tsp. sherry vinegar
3 oz. dandelion greens
3⁄4 cup pitted oil-cured black olives, roughly chopped
2 shallots, thinly sliced

Preparation:

1. Put chicken into a dish; drizzle with 3 tbsp. oil; season with salt and pepper. Set aside. Bring broth to a boil in a 6-qt. pan over medium-high heat. Add carrots; cook until tender, 15–20 minutes. Drain. Heat 1⁄2 cup oil in a 4-qt. pot over high heat. Add onions; cook until soft, 4–5 minutes. Add carrots; cook for 6–8 minutes. Purée in a food processor with 2 tbsp. oil. Season with salt and pepper; keep warm.

2. Heat orange juice in a 2-qt. pan over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced by half, 12–15 minutes. Whisk in butter; season with salt and pepper. Add orange segments; set sauce aside. 


3. Heat oven to 400°. Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, add chicken, skin side down; cook until crisp, 8–10 minutes. Transfer chicken, skin side up, to a baking sheet. Brush with 3⁄4 cup harissa. Bake until cooked, 6–8 minutes.


4. In a bowl, whisk together remaining oil and harissa with sherry vinegar. Add greens, olives, and shallots; toss. Divide carrot purée between 6 plates; top each with salad and a chicken breast. Spoon sauce over each.

*Harissa
3-4 dried ancho chillies
3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon caraway seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
Stem and de-seed chilies. Tear them into rough pieces, place them in a jar and cover with hot water. Let them soak for about an hour (wine time) then drain and pat them dry. Transfer them to a food processor and add garlic, spices and salt. Blend until mixture is a coarse paste; then add olive oil and water and blend until smooth.

Now about those wines…
Catena, Mendoza, Argentina Chardonnay 2007
Chateau de la Tuilerie, Costieres de Nimes, France Syrah/Grenache 2006
Geodaisia, Cotes du Rhone Blanc, Domaine Chapoton, Rhone, France 2006
Jean-Paul Paguet, Saint-Veran, Burgundy, France Domaine Fussiacus 2007
Allende Blanco, Finca Allende, Rioja, Spain 2005