Potatoes with Spiced Chicken Topping

Baked potatoes meet Moroccan-inspired flavors in this loaded dinner that’s way more interesting than your usual butter-and-sour-cream situation. The topping is a skillet chicken stew made with strips of boneless chicken cooked in a spiced gravy laced with cinnamon, paprika, lemon juice, and hot pepper sauce, then finished with plump raisins and golden toasted almonds.

That combination of cinnamon and paprika gives the gravy a warm, aromatic quality that hits somewhere between North African and Middle Eastern. The lemon juice keeps it bright and prevents the spices from feeling heavy. Raisins add pops of sweetness that play against the heat, while slivered almonds bring crunch to every bite.

The gravy comes together fast. Flour dusted over the chicken thickens the broth as it simmers, so you get a proper sauce that clings to the potato instead of pooling at the bottom of the plate.

Kitchen Tips

• Toast the almonds first, then remove them from the pan before cooking onions. This keeps them crunchy instead of soft.
• Cut chicken into even strips so they cook at the same rate.
• Fluff the potatoes by cutting an X and squeezing the sides open. This creates more surface area to catch the topping.
• The sauce thickens quickly once it boils, so stir constantly to avoid lumps.

Variations

• Use sweet potatoes instead of russets for an even sweeter contrast with the spiced chicken.
• Substitute dried cranberries or chopped apricots for the raisins.
• Add chickpeas to the topping for extra protein and a heartier dish.