MMM, The other night we had some friends over and I made this spiced chicken and lentil dish that turned out to be so tasty. It was a takeoff on a recipe I found for Moroccan chicken, but since I didn't have some of the ingredients and I had others I thought might work, I changed it round.
The recipe relies on the tang of vinegar to really make the lentils flavorful.
I washed and trimmed four large boneless, skinless, breasts and then cut them into strips that I marinated in oil, garlic, 2 tablespoons chili powder, corriander, and salt and pepper. Refrigerate for several hours.
I cooked a pound of organic green lentils in turkey broth (found them in the new bulk section at Hannaford's) until tender and then transferred them to a bowl and dressed them with 1/2 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon chili powder, and a sprinkling of corriander, salt and pepper to taste all wisked together (you can add some cumin too, but I didn't have any) Set bowl aside.
Saute about 1/2 an onion over medium heat until translucent and soft and add the chicken, letting it get good and colorful. Cover and cook for 2 minutes and then if you want add more spices and some chopped dried apricots and turn to coat and cook another few minutes until chicken is just cooked through and tender. Take off heat and let sit for a few minutes while you get the lentils ready to assemble the dish.
Mound lentils in the center of a large platter and then add chicken around the outside of the platter. Set in the center of the table with serving spoons and let everyone help themselves. Serve with sauteed vegetables (I did squash, zucchini, colored peppers, and fresh tomatos sprinkled with garlic and oregano).
Enjoy,
Seth
