Chicken Tagine
Browned chicken braised in a spiced sauce, the secret to a great Moroccan Chicken Tagine is a well-balanced spice blend.
Ingredients
- 150 g dried apricot halved
- ▢ 6 x 220g / 7 oz chicken thighs bone-in skin-on
- ¾ tsp salt cooking/kosher salt
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion brown/yellow, cut into 0.3 cm/ 1/8" slices
- 2 garlic cloves finely minced
- 1 cinnamon stick sub 1/2 tsp powder
- 400 g crushed tomato 1 can
- 400 g canned chickpeas drained
- 1 tbsp preserved lemon skin finely minced
- 625 ML chicken stock low-sodium (or homemade)
RAS EL HANOUT SPICE BLEND
- 1 tsp cooking salt
- ¾ tsp ground cumin
- ¾ tsp ground ginger
- ¾ tsp tsp black pepper
- ½ tsp tsp allspice powder
- ¼ tsp cinnamon powder
- ¼ tsp coriander powder
- ⅛ tsp clove powder
FOR SERVING
- Couscous – plain or with fruit and/or nuts recipe here
- 2 tbsp fresh coriander roughly chopped
ALTERNATIVE ADD IN OPTIONS
- 1 cup Kalamata olives instead of apricots (Note 7)
- ⅓ cup slivered almonds lightly toasted, for garnish
Instructions
- Plump apricots – Soak the dried apricots in a bowl of boiling water for 30 minutes, then drain (this plumps them up).
- Season chicken – Sprinkle both sides of the chicken with the salt.
- Brown chicken – Heat oil the oil in a large, deep skillet or pot (Note 5) over high heat. Place chicken in the skillet skin side down and cook for 8 to 10 minutes until deep golden. Turn and cook the flesh side for 1 minute then remove to a plate.
- Sauté aromatics & spices – Discard all but 2 tablespoons of fat in the skillet. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions and cook for 3 minutes. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the Ras el hanout and stir for 30 seconds.
- Tagine sauce – Add the cinnamon stick, tomato, chickpeas, plumped apricots, stock and preserved lemon, then stir. Place the chicken on top, skin side up.
- Simmer covered 5 minutes – Bring the liquid to a simmer then cover with a lid (Note 6). Cook for 5 minutes, adjusting the heat as needed so the liquid is simmering (but not too rapidly else base may catch).
- Simmer uncovered 20 minutes – Remove lid then cook for a further 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken is at least 70°C/158°F (Note 6).
- Serve – Remove from stove and rest for 5 minutes. Serve over couscous (Note 9), sprinkled with fresh coriander.
Notes
This recipe is sponsored by Mediterranean Supermarket