Moroccan style chicken and vegetable stew

Bring a taste of Morocco into your home with this healthy, fragrant stew. Delicately balanced, it's full of sweet notes from the apricots and cinnamon, and savoury flavours from the cumin, chickpeas and chicken. It makes for a tasty midweek meal that everyone will love – some may even want a second helping.

45 minutes prep. time
1 hour 15 minutes cooking time
Serves 4
Soups, stews & curries

Bowl of Moroccan style chicken and vegetable stew — Enjoy a hearty bowl of this Moroccan style chicken and vegetable stew | © National Trust Images/Willam Shaw

300g tomatoes
1tbsp vegetable oil
200g white onions, peeled and roughly chopped
500g diced chicken thigh
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 tbsp tomato purée
200g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
15g chicken bouillon, dissolved in 200ml of hot water
400ml water
1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained
20g fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
50g dried apricots, roughly chopped
Salt to taste

Top tip

Leave the tomatoes to cool for a little bit before fully peeling off their skins so they're cold enough to handle.

Step 1

Cut the tomatoes in half and place them cut side down on a lined baking tray in the oven at 170°C (150°C fan/gas mark 4) for 30 minutes, until softened and the skins have lifted from the flesh.

Step 2

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and pinch off all the skins.

Step 3

Place a pan over a high heat. When the pan is hot, add the oil followed by the chopped onions. Sauté for 10 minutes until the onions begin to soften.

Step 4

Add in the chicken, garlic, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and tomato purée. Cook for a further 5 minutes.

Step 5

Add the skinned roasted tomatoes, followed by the carrots and stir well.

Step 6

Add the chicken bouillon and water, followed by the chickpeas and stir well.

Step 7

Leave to simmer for 20–30 minutes until the carrots have started to soften, the tomatoes have started to break down and the chicken is cooked through.