Leftovers 101 – Moroccan Rice pilaf with chicken and dried apricots

So this chicken walks into my house and asks what's for dinner. I say, "I'm not sure, will you be staying for dinner?" The chicken says "sure". So he stays for dinner. And he stays the next day. Then, he's leftovers.

Anyone can be a great culinary artiste if cost is no object and every possible ingredient is at one's fingertips. But that's not where creativity comes from. Our ancestors made more with less, as perusal of almost cookbook printed during The Depression will illustrate. (I have one that even has instructions on how to build a wood or coal fire for your cook stove.)

In the Third World, very little meat is stretched into a very satisfying family meal by adding staples, like rice and beans. This dish is an amalgamation of several recipes and whose construction was based on the ingredients at hand, save a small, $3 dollar packet of Marrakech Moroccan Spice from The Savory Spice Shop. The result is simple and easy. Think of it as 10 ingredients + 1 pan + 50 minutes = dinner.

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice
  
• 1 quart chicken stock (you probably won't use it all)
  
• ¼ cup dried apricots
  
• 2 tablespoons dried cherries
  
• 1 cup meripoix (dices, onions, carrots, and celery in equal amounts
  
• I left over chicken breast, de-boned and coarsely chopped, about ½ pound
  
• ½ cup dried English peas, soaked overnight
  
• I tablespoon Marrakech Moroccan Spice blend (cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, ginger, anise, allspice)
  
• Zest of one orange
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  

Technique

Heat olive oil in deep skillet with lid or Dutch oven. Add your meripoix and sauté until soft, about 5 minutes. Add rice and sauté until slightly brown (that makes the rice taste nuttier). Add 2 cups of chicken stock and drop the lid on the pan, stirring occasionally, for about 15 minutes or until mostly done. Next, stir in your chicken and your dried fruits and let cook for another 10 minutes or so. Then add the peas, the spice mix and the orange zest, stirring to blend. Remove the dish from the heat and let stand for a few minutes to let the aromatics in the spice blend and the orange zest to release their happiness and give the dish its full flavor.

Bon appétit!