Matt Moran Chicken

You know how they say the camera never lies? Well mine was telling big fat porkies when I took this picture last night of our meal. It doesn’t look half as nice in the picture as what it looked like on the plate – or maybe it is my crap photography. Anyway you must give this recipe a go (despite the picture) especially if you like spicy food.

Matt Moran for those of you who don’t know is a very well known chef in Australia. He is part owner and Head Chef at ARIA an award winning restaurant that over looks the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Harbour.

He appeared at the Good Food & Wine Show here in Perth in August and I was lucky enough to see him cook this dish. I also ate the very same dish at the Celebrity Restaurant they had set up there and loved it so much I thought I would give it a go at home. It’s not really called Matt Moran Chicken, it’s called Chicken Sauté with Chorizo & Chickpeas but that is just way too long so I like my little nickname for it better. And it is a really easy dish – especially if you have people coming over for dinner. I have cooked it 3 times now and it has come out great every time and everyone’s plates were clean as whistles. It’s now one of Hubby’s favourites.

I have taken some of the ‘Chefiness’ if there is such a word; out of it just to make it easier. But essentially it is Matt’s recipe and is, quite simply, delicious. The only thing to try and get hold of is the Harissa paste which I found quite hard to get and then found it at my local IGA 200 meters from my house. Typical!

Ingredients
(Serves 4)

1.2kg of chicken (preferably free range) pieces (I have used just breast, or a combination of breast, thigh & drumstick, just make sure they are cut into pieces)
olive oil
1x brown onion, finely chopped
2x cloves of garlic
100g of chorizo sausage
1x 400g can of chickpeas, drained
2x tsp cumin
2x tsp coriander
40g harissa paste
300ml chicken stock
½ head of cabbage shredded
Bunch of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper for seasoning

(My) Method

Heat a large saucepan with olive oil, large enough to hold the chicken and season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken for approximately 5-6 minutes until golden all over. Remove chicken from the pan and set aside.

If needed, add a touch more oil and then sweat the onions, garlic and sliced and cook gently for 2 minutes before adding the chickpeas, ground cumin, coriander and Harissa paste. Return the browned chicken to the pan and cover with the chicken stock. Place a lid on and simmer for 10 minutes.

Steam the cabbage, drain off any excess water and arrange in the base of 4 bowls or plates.

Divide the chicken, chickpeas and chorizo sausage between the bowls and garnish with the parsley.

I also served it with some crunchy garlic bread and a green dressed salad.

Enjoy!

This is divine with a nice glass of Chardonnay. They served this at the show with Fifth Leg Chardonnay 2007, which has “…melon and stone fruit flavours balanced by citrus notes and a hint of oak.”

Hope you give it a go and when you do, pop back and let me know what you think!