Chicken with Zucchini

How to prepare chicken with zucchini

1. Put the vegetables (onion, garlic, parsley, bell pepper, tomatoes) in a food processor and blend until you have a paste.
2. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels. Cut into appropriate pieces if needed (I cut the boneless thighs in half).
   
3. In hot oil, fry the meat until lightly browned on both sides. Remove from the pan. If the chicken has released a lot of fat, you can drain some of it.
   
4. Add the vegetable paste and saute for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid evaporates and it starts to look dry. Add the tomato paste and saute for 1 more minute.
   
5. Put the chicken back in the pan, add 250 ml water, all the spices, plus salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil. Simmer with the lid on, over low heat for 25 minutes.
   * if you don't enjoy the exotic aromas of the sauce, you can add only chopped dill along with the zucchini (step 7)
7. Meanwhile, cut the zucchini into thick lengthwise slices (if small, you can just cut them in half). Brush with oil on both sides. Cook on a grill pan until nice grill marks appear (about 5 minutes per side). They don't need to be fully cooked, just browned, as you'll finish them in the sauce. Transfer the grilled slices to a cutting board and cut into appropriate pieces. Sprinkle with a little salt.
   
8. Add the zucchini to the sauce and continue cooking, without the lid this time, for another 15-20 minutes, until the sauce reduces and the zucchini is cooked through. Don't stir the sauce during this time so the zucchini slices don't break. If needed, you can shake the pan with back-and-forth movements to settle the contents.
9. Serve hot with couscous (or bulgur).

Print