I absolutely love the vibrant flavours and colours of Moroccan spices and ingredients. Although I haven’t been there, I was still inspired by the culture to make this dish, and I did, technically, see the country. That counts for something, right? It was back when I was working for Disney Cruise Line and we made a stop in Gibraltar when I decided to put Morocco on my bucket list. We had already stopped in beautiful Gibraltar a couple of times and did the touristy things – climb the Rock of Gibraltar, let monkeys climb on us and unwillingly let them pee on our backs – so we wanted a different experience. We were running around Gibraltar trying to find a ferry that would take us across the Strait of Gibraltar to get to Morocco and back in time before the cruise ship departed. In the end, our mission failed and I only got to point to Morocco for a picture. But what an adventurous day that was! So this chicken salad recipe is inspired by that crazy afternoon and my want to, one day, make it to Morocco.

The aroma that comes from mixing the spice mix for the chicken is so intoxicating that I was tempted to just eat the mix with a spoon and forget about cooking the chicken. There are so many unique flavours, smells and textures that equal out to the perfect balance for this delicious and exotic salad. Caraway seeds have a very distinct flavour that can be described as somewhat of a bitter, fruity, earthy taste and is most commonly found in rye bread. I love how perfectly it pairs with the chicken and balances out the sweet figs. I can’t wait for you to try this dish!

Yield: Serves 2 as an entrée or 4-6 as a side dish

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, pounded evenly to about ½ – ¾ inch thick
• 4 cups of arugula
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 5 Turkish figs, sliced (any fresh figs will do)
• ½ cup chopped pistachios
• 1 beet, julienned
• ⅓ cup green olives, halved
• 2 tbsp chopped cilantro
• 4 tsp caraway seeds
• 2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• pinch or two of cayenne
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 tsp honey
• ½ lemon juice
• 1½ tsp freshly grated ginger
• 2 tsp salt for chicken, plus a couple pinches for the dressing
• pinch of pepper
• oil for cooking

Preparation:

Mix the caraway seeds, cumin, cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle on both sides of the chicken breasts. Coat the bottom of a sauté pan with oil and turn heat on to medium. Add chicken and cook on each side for about 3½-4 minutes until cooked through.

When chicken is finished, put aside and let slightly cool while finishing up the rest of the salad. Add drained chickpeas to the same sauté pan the chicken was in to allow them to absorb the spices. Add the cayenne to the chickpeas and cook for about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, blanch julienned beets in boiling water for 1 minute, just until tender but still have a bite. Rinse with cold water when finished to stop them from cooking. Whisk together olive oil, vinegar, honey, lemon juice, ginger, couple pinches of salt and pepper for the dressing.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and coat with dressing. Slice the chicken breast and add it on top of the salad. Serve with warm pita or stuff the salad inside the pocket for a delicious salad sandwich.