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Lebanese couscous

Moghrabieh (Lebanese Moghrabieh with chicken)

Emily A.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Course Main Course, Soup
Cuisine lebanese, Mediterranean
Servings 8

Ingredients
  

For the chicken

  • 1 2 lb split chicken breast or any preferred cut of chicken
  • 1 large onion chopped
  • 3 tablespoon olive oil extra virgin
  • 8 cups water
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 2 ½ teas salt
  • 2 cups pearl onions 1- 12 oz package frozen
  • 1 15.5 oz can chickpeas aka garbanzo beans
  • ½ of the moghrabieh spice mix (below) or a little more

Moghrabieh Spice Mix

  • 1 teas ground caraway
  • ¾ teas Lebanese 7 spices substitute ¼ t pepper and ¼ teas cinnamon
  • ¾ teas ground cinnamon
  • ¾ teas ground cumin
  • ½ teas ground black pepper

For the Mogrhabieh

  • 2 cups dry mogrhabieh pearls 1 lb
  • 8 cups water
  • 3 tablespoon butter or ghee
  • 1 teas salt
  • the rest of the moghrabieh spice mix

Instructions
 

Boiling the chicken

  • Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium heat
  • Add the chicken, skin side down and the large diced onion and brown the chicken on each side 4-5 minutes until brown
  • Add 8 cups of water to the pot with the chicken along with the whole spices and salt
  • Simmer the chicken over medium heat until cooked through. Skim any fat from the top. Remove the chicken, discard the skin and the bones and cut or shred it into bite size pieces. Remove the whole spices.
  • To the pot that had the chicken, add the pearled onions and the chickpeas (drained and rinsed), and a little over half of the moghrabieh spices. Continue to simmer while preparing the moghrabieh pearls (below) and add the chicken to heat through at the end

Cooking the moghrabieh couscous

  • Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add the moghrabieh pearls
  • Boil the moghrabieh pearls uncovered for 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender. Drain the mogrhabieh in a colander and add put them back into the pot
  • Add the butter to the couscous pearls along with what's left of the moghrabieh spice mix and sauté over medium heat for 5 minutes
  • Spoon about 3-4 ladles of the chicken broth into the moghrabieh and let it soak up all of that flavor
  • Keep the prepared moghrabieh and the chicken stew in separate pots while serving so that the Lebanese couscous does not soak up all of the liquid. In individual bowls, combine the moghrabieh and the chicken stew and serve
Keyword Chicken moghrabieh, lebanese cousous, lebanese moghrabieh, lebanese stew, moghrabieh pearls
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