Diabetic Living Australia – May-June 2019

Moroccan chicken & chickpea casserole

3 tsp of remaining oil and pork in
another 3 batches.
2 Heat the remaining oil in
the pan over medium heat. Add
the onions, celery, bay leaves and
oregano to the pan. Cook, stirring
occasionally, for 6-7 minutes or
until the onion softens. Add the
cumin, coriander and allspice.
Cook, stirring, for 1 minute.
Return the pork to the dish
with the stock cube, tomatoes,
cocoa, sugar and 1 Tbsp of the
vinegar. Add the zest and juice
of 1 orange and 3 chilli halves.
Bring to a simmer over medium
heat. Cover and reduce heat to
medium-low and cook, covered,
for 1 hour.
3 Meanwhile, finely chop the
reserved chilli half and mix with
the shallots and remaining red
wine vinegar and the zest and
juice from the last orange.
Cover and put in the fridge.
4 Add the sweet potato and
capsicum to the pan. Cover and
simmer for a further 30 minutes.
5 Meanwhile (when the stew
has about 15 minutes to go),
to make the dumplings, in a bowl
rub the margarine into the flour
until it resembles fine crumbs,
then stir in the polenta, bicarb
and corn. Finally, mix in the
buttermilk and all but 1 Tbsp of
the egg to make a soft dough.
Roll the mixture into 12 soft
dumplings, then roll in a little
more polenta to coat the
tops. Brush the tops with the
reserved beaten egg.
6 Preheat oven to 180°C (fan-
forced). Stir the beans into the
stew. Place 6 of the dumplings
on top of the stew and the rest
on a baking tray lined with baking
paper. Place the stew (without
the lid) and the dumplings on
the tray in the oven and cook for
25 minutes or until the dumplings
are golden and risen.

7 Carry the stew straight to the

table and sprinkle over a little

more oregano before spooning

into bowls. Serve the stew with

the extra dumplings alongside,

for those who fancy another

one, and the shallot relish.

COOK’S TIP

To make your own buttermilk,

simply combine 1⁄3 cup milk with 1

tsp fresh lemon juice. Stir and use

immediately.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN

& CHICKPEA CASSEROLE

PREP TIME: 15 MINS (+ MARINATING)

COOK TIME: 1 HOUR 15 MINS

SERVES 4 (AS A MAIN)

800g skinless and boneless

chicken thigh fillets, trimmed

of fat, cut into large chunks

1 Tbsp harissa paste

2 tsp olive oil

1 large brown onion,

finely sliced

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground

turmeric

250ml (1 cup)

salt-reduced

chicken stock

250ml (1 cup) water

400g can no-added-salt

chopped tomatoes

100g raisins

420g can no-added-salt

chickpeas, rinsed and

drained

100g couscous

125ml (1/2 cup) boiling water

Small mint leaves, to serve

1 Mix the chicken thighs with

the harissa paste in a large bowl.

Cover and put in the fridge to

marinate.

2 Heat the oil in a large heavy

based saucepan over medium-

high heat. Add the chicken

and cook for 2-3 minutes,

turning occasionally, until

browned. Remove from the

pan and set aside.

3 Add the onion to the pan

and cook over medium heat,

stirring occasionally, for

6-7 minutes or until the

onion starts to soften. Add

the cinnamon, cumin and

turmeric. Cook, stirring, for

1 minute. Return the chicken

to the pan with the

stock, water,

tomatoes and

raisins. Bring to

the oil over high

heat. Reduce

heat to low

and simmer,

covered, for

45 minutes.

4 Add the

chickpeas to the pan

and simmer, uncovered,

for 15 minutes until the sauce

reduces slightly and thickens.

5 Meanwhile, put the couscous

in a small heatproof bowl.

Pour over the boiling water.

Cover with a plate and set

aside for 3-4 minutes or until

the liquid is absorbed. Use a

fork to fluff the couscous.

Cover and set aside.

6 Serve the Moroccan chicken

& chickpea casserole with the

couscous and a handful of

mint leaves on top.

Health^ Tip

Chickpeas^ are^ a

great^

source^ of^ plant

protein^ and^

contain^ all^ the^

essential^

amino^ acids^ th

e^ body^ is^

unable^ to^ make

. They^ are^
also^ low^ GI^ and

full^

of^ fibre.

62 MAY/JUNE 2019 diabetic living

crowd pleaser