Moroccan Chicken Stew with Dates and Olives

This is a wonderful winter stew.  Doubled the recipe and it worked fine.  Serve with brown rice (or in bowls).  From little chef big appetite, adapted from the lemonade cookbook.

Ingredients:

Chicken Rub:

• 1 Tablespoon Ground Cumin
• 1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder (sub Onion if not using garlic)
• 1 Tablespoon light brown sugar
• 2 tsps ground ginger
• 2 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper

Moroccan Stew:

• 1 1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breasts (sub skinless chicken thighs)
• 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 medium onion chopped
• 2 red bell peppers stem and seeds removed chopped into 1 inch pieces
• 4 cloves of minced garlic
• 1 Tablespoon fresh chopped ginger
• 12 Kalamata Olives, pitted
• 8 Medjool Dates pitted and quartered
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme (or 1 tsp fresh)
• 1/4 tsp dried oregano (or 1/2 tsp fresh)
• 1 quart chicken broth
• 2-3 tablespoons of cornstarch (optional)

Prep

1. add all the rub ingredients in a small bowl and mix together
2. Pat the chicken breasts dry, place in a bowl and cover with rub, making sure all the chicken is coated
3. Chop the onion and bell peppers into a large bowl
4. chop the ginger and garlic into a small bowl
5. chop the dates into a medium bowl, add the olives

Cook

1. Heat a 5 quart dutch oven, over MEDIUM HIGH heat, add olive oil to the bottom.  When the oil is hot add the chicken and cook for 4 minutes on each side. After browning both sides remove the chicken.  This might take two passes depending on how chicken.
2. With the dutch oven empty, reduce the head to MEDIUM and add more olive oil, and add chopped onions and red peppers.  Cook for 5 minutes until soft.  Add Garlic and ginger and cook for 1 minute. Season the mixture with a pinch of salt and pepper.
3. Add Olives, Dates, Thyme, and Oregano to the vegetables and stir.  Return the chicken to the pot, and pout the broth over everything until the chicken is submerged.  Try to use as little broth as you can.  Note where the smallest chicken piece is on the pot.
4. bring the stew to a boil.
5. reduce the temperature to SIMMER and cover.
6. set a 3-5 minute timer and using an instaread thermometer in the center of the chicken piece, remove each chicken breast when it read 165 degrees.  Once out of the pot, cut the chicken into bite size pieces and set aside.
7. repeat step 6 until all the chicken is removed and cut up.
8. increase the heat to high and cook down the stew for 3-5 minutes.
9. add cornstarch to thicken the stew.
10. reduce the heat to low simmer and add the chicken and mix well.
11. serve over rice or in bowls.