Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine

 

Tagine (tæˈʒiːn) - n -  1. A traditional North African stew with vegetables, meat and a variety of spices.  2. A characteristic terracotta cooking pot with a conical lid.

For our first post we decided that we would share a lovely simple dish which is full of flavour and which we love to devour.

We have unfortunately never been to Morocco, however we have read many books and articles about its cuisine and eaten in various North African restaurants; as a result this is our take on a Moroccan tagine.

Enjoy!

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine

Preparation time - 15 minutes

Cooking time -  50-60 minutes

Serves 4

Ingredients

600-700 g boneless chicken leg, cut into bite-sized pieces

2 medium onions - half ring slices

6 medium cloves garlic - finely chopped

500 g Maris Piper potatoes - peeled and cut into 1 inch dice

1 x 400 g can chickpeas - 230 g drained

200 g fresh vine-ripened tomatoes - peeled and chopped

1 cinnamon stick (~ 10cm)

1 tsp ground turmeric

3 tsp Ras-el-Hanout

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

pinch of saffron threads

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

200 ml chicken stock

2 tbsp olive oil

20 g butter

Notes - We used 2 chicken oxo cubes to make up our stock - these cubes are salted so we used this to season our dish. Alternatively you could use homemade or shop bought stock and then season with salt accordingly to your taste.  Ras-el-Hanout is a traditional Moroccan spice blend available in the majority of shops and typically comprises cardamom, clove, cinnamon, ground chili peppers, coriander, cumin, nutmeg, peppercorn and turmeric.

Method

 

1. In a large pan (if you don't have a tagine - don't worry, we don't...) heat the oil and butter, add the onions and garlic and soften slightly over a medium heat, without browning, for about 2 minutes.

2. Add the chicken and all of the spices, stir and leave to cook for approximately 10 minutes over a medium heat, continuing to stir occasionally.

3. Next add the potatoes, stir to combine and cook for another 5 minutes.

4. Add the tomatoes, cover and cook over a low heat for 20 minutes.  Stir from time to time to ensure it has not caught on the bottom of the pan.

5. Once the ingredients have combined to produce a thick sauce, add the chickpeas and stock. Stir and leave to simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are soft and the sauce begins to thicken. Season to taste and serve immediately.

Side dishes 

  

We recommend that you serve this with some cous cous, simply prepared using the recipe below.

For every 100 g of dried cous cous - mix with approximately 120 ml of boiling hot chicken stock (we use one chicken stock cube for this amount of liquid) in a bowl, cover with a plate and leave to absorb for 10 minutes.  Once absorbed, scratch with a fork to separate the grains and season with 1 tsp grated lemon zest, 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice and a pinch of ground black pepper.  Add a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if desired.  Serve immediately with the tagine.

We hope that you enjoy this as much as we do and welcome any comments you might have.