Moroccan style Chicken Panzanella

I first encountered chermoula while working at Terzo, a Mediterranean inspired small plates restaurant in the Cow Hollow neighborhood of San Francisco.  Chermoula is a herbcentric, smoky paprika laced sauce and marinade; Morocco's counterpart to Italy's salsa verde, or the Argentine chimichurri. As manager, I had the choice of anything on the menu for my nightly dinner, and consistently found it very difficult not to order the Chicken Spiedini every, single, night.  Spiedini, translates to stick or skewer, and in Terzo's case was deliciously marinated chicken cubes skewered with onion and bread cubes, having perfectly soaked up just the right amount of marinade, and were nothing short of brilliant.  It remains one of their most popular dishes.   

smooth consistency, a bit different from
salsa verdo or pesto in this way

As with most of my recipes, the sudden need to create a flavor I’ve had or am imagining hits me with an inspiration I can’t deny.  It becomes the solo factor that drives my day.  I make my way to the store, buy any ingredients I’m missing from my pantry or fridge, come home and within minutes, am busy at work.  Like a painter, when inspiration strikes, it strikes.  As in most of my creations, I often start with a “base” recipe I find online, research a few author’s versions, and do a combination. Chermoula was easy to find, and when my favorite recipe website, Serious Eats, popped up in the top five results, I went directly there.  I didn’t need to search further.

Instead of doing the skewers for this recipe, I decided to create a spin on the Tuscan style bread salad known as panzanella,   Terzo's spiedini with chicken onion and croutons would work perfectly against the backdrop of your favorite brand of  hearty salad greens.

Spiedini style: chicken cubes skewered with bread and onion,
and smothered with more sauce once out
of the oven

I like using organic chicken thighs, as breast meat is a bit too lean and the fatty skin and juicy texture of dark meat is totally my jam.  Skin-on is ideal, and if you are okay with a boning knife, deboning your skin-on thighs is the best way to get your marinade into the nooks and crannies while also getting a crackling and tasty skin! If you don't really want to get all up into the deboning action, skinless boneless thighs will work in a pinch. 

With most of my savory food recipes, I’m not obsessed with using measuring devices, cups or tablespoons. I think you should also feel pretty good about winging it.  If you’ve been at the cooking thing for a while, most of the dry ingredients should already be in your larder:

For the sauce:

1 bunch fresh cilantro –

1/2 bunch fresh parsely (1/2 cup)

1 T ground cumin

2T  ground smoky paprika

¼ tsp cayenne pepper

juice of 1 lemon (or 1-2 T  preserved lemon peel with 1T salty preserving liquid)

1-2 t salt (to taste if you didn't use preserved lemons)

3 cloves fresh garlic

½ cup of canola/olive oil blend (neutral cooking oil)

 For the rest:

4- 6 Chicken thighs

1 yellow onion – coarsely chopped into 1” chunks

1 large container organic Hearty Salad Greens (dirty girl super greens)

1 Baguette Sourdough/ French/Italian baguette bread – cut into 1” cubes

For the salad:

¼ cup olive oil

juice of 2 lemons

salt

pepper

1T finely minced shallot

Pulse all Chermoula ingredients in food processor.  Taste for salt and lemon content. It should definitely have some lemony high notes. If you use preserved lemons, you definitely won't need to add additional salt.

Debone chicken (maintaining skin). Place chicken and diced onions in non-reactive bowl (stainless steel or ceramic) pour half the marinade over chicken and onions, working it in and pricking the skin and flesh with a fork for maximum penetration.  Cover with plastic wrap and let marinade in fridge for 30 minutes – 2 hours.

Toss the bread cubes with some olive oil, a pinch of salt and 2 tablespoons of the Chermoula.  Spread onto baking sheet and toast in a slow oven around 300F, for about 15 minutes.  Check often.  You don’t want the bread to begin to brown, just to get crispy on the edges.  (If you are doing the skewers, skip this step and instead, toss the bread cubes with the marinated chicken right before skewering it up - don't worry all the raw chicken juices will become safely cooked).

Remove croutons and increase oven temperature to 375F.  Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Arrange chicken (skin side up)and onions evenly on baking sheet and bake for 30-45 minutes, until chicken skin is browned and internal temperature of thickest piece is 155F. (skewers will only take about 25 minutes)

Remove from oven and let rest.

In a  large mixing bowl, drizzle salad dressing over greens, tossing lightly.   Arrange salad in individual salad bowls or in a large shallow serving dish.  Slice chicken on the bias, retaining skin if you like.  Place croutons in a bowl and toss with cooked onions and juices from chicken (remaining behind on pan).  Arrange croutons and onions on top of salad.  Top with chicken slices.  Drizzle remaining chermoula over top.  Enjoy the hell out of yourself!