Hi everyone, it feels like ages since I last posted (I guess it has been a while, and I’m sorry for that!) But I am finally settled in to my new apartment, and it’s everything I want it to be. It feels like a home, which is something I’ve been craving for the two months I’ve been down in Melbourne. Although I’ve had some amazing support from friends with my living situation, it’s so nice to have all my stuff in one place, and more importantly to not be living out of suitcases!
I have been doing a lot of travel for work though, which has not been ideal for me getting back into my cooking. Its depressing when you unpack all of your cool cooking utensils and then you have to pack up and leave to stay in a hotel. I mean I’m all for hotels and getting to eat out, but it’s not as much of a novelty when you’ve been doing it for a while, and just want to get into the kitchen! I know, some of you who don’t enjoy cooking might think I’m crazy, but I have been so ready to have the freedom to cook what I want for two months, and I’ve only just gotten into my own space with my own kitchen, and that’s pretty exciting to boring old me!
So I’ve finally had the chance to get back into the kitchen this week, and I couldn’t wait to start writing my blog post about it! I have been craving something Moroccan for weeks now and just haven’t quite managed to find it. It’s something about the flavours; they really remind me of the food my mum cooks a lot of at home. The aroma that wafted through the house while I was cooking this dish made me think of cooking at home for my family, and made me really happy. Plus, it was a really delicious smell, so that’s always a plus! Even my housemate who is vegetarian could appreciate how amazing it smelt, although sadly she could not sample any. Although I’m all for vegetarian food, sometimes you just crave meat, and this has been one of those weeks where I’ve been after some protein.
I’ve tried this recipe a couple of times before, as in its original form it is from the Stephanie Alexander cookbook, which is somewhat a bible in my parents house. However, sadly I am yet to form the collection of spices that my mother has, and so I was missing a lot of the fancy ingredients from the recipe. But I figured that what’s a bit of cooking without some improvisation? When life doesn’t give you saffron threads or cinnamon sticks, you make do! So I really improvised on the original recipe, and ended up making it my own. Although perhaps it doesn’t taste the same as the Stephanie Alexander original recipe, it sure was delicious, much quicker to make, and a lot cheaper too! That seems like three wins in my book!
Ingredients
- 1 Chicken breast
- A pinch of salt
- A pinch of ground pepper
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- 1 brown onion, diced finely
- 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1 x 1cm piece of ginger, finely chopped
- 1 teapsoon of chilli flakes
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder
- 1 tablespoon of ground cumin
- 2 large carrots, chopped into thin rounds
- 500 ml of chicken stock
- 250 grams of butternut pumpkin, peeled and cut into small pieces
Instructions
- Cut the chicken breast into small pieces and sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper. Set aside.
- Heat oil in a cast iron casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, cinnamon and ground cumin and stir to combine. Cook until the onion has softened (if it gets too dry add a little more oil or some water to the mix)
- Add the chicken and cook until it is browned on all sides.
- Add the carrots, stock and butternut pumpkin to the pot, and stir to combine. Bring the mixture to a simmer on a medium heat and allow to simmer for 45 minutes. Ensure you stir the mixture occasionally, and if you lose too much liquid cover the pot with the lid for the remaining cook time.
- Once the carrots are soft, the stew is ready. The pumpkin should have broken down into the sauce and the chicken will be cooked through. (Note: If you would prefer for the pumpkin to remain in whole pieces, rather than adding it at the beginning you can add it with about 20 minutes to go. I just prefer mine all gooey but it’s completely up to you)
- Serve with cous cous and if you want to get fancy, a bit of chopped coriander on top.
And that’s really all there is to it! Although it takes a little longer to cook than some of my other recipes, the end result is worth that extra time! The flavours in this dish are just amazing, even without some of the ingredients from the original recipe. I’ve tried the recipe a number of times and I’m really happy with the way my improvised version turned out. Sometimes you don’t want to add saffron threads and all those other fancy things, you just want a hearty weeknight meal! It goes to show that once you’ve got a feel for what flavours go together, you can whip something up without really following a recipe!
Like I said earlier, this dish reminded me of being back at home, which was really nice. It also meant I got to use the cast iron pot my mum bought me for Christmas for the first time, and it certainly didn’t fail me! Thanks mum for such a good present, I’m sure I’ll be getting a lot more use out of this one in meals to come!
This dish would be an absolute winner on cold nights, and I’m so excited to have leftovers tomorrow for what is predicted to be a very cold day! Sadly I had no one to share this meal with, which is the main depressing thing about cooking for one. But with this dish I feel like it was worth it, because now I get to have it all to myself!
Until next time, happy eating!
Ella xx
