Chicken Tagine

 

This has always been one of my favourite chicken dishes. Chicken and lemon is a marriage made in heaven. This together with mix of Moroccan spices makes for a dish that is packed with flavour.

I’m also a great believer in cooking food that is easy to achieve a tasty result without slaving away in the kitchen for hours. I used to spend hours in the kitchen when I had friends over for dinner, and then would spend most of the evening stressing in the kitchen. In the end I realised that I got almost no time with my friends. After all a dinner is not just about the food, it’s also about the company. And if I’m in the kitchen all night it kind of defeats the aim.

But, this dish is so easy you can easily make it for the family any day of the week.

Chicken Tagine

Ingredients (for about 4 people)

Olive oil
50g of butter
2 large onions roughly chopped
4 large garlic cloves
1 tsp of coriander powder
1 tsp powdered ginger
8 chicken thighs (skins removed)
1 pinch of saffron strands soaked in
salt and pepper to taste
200g of green olives ideally without stones
3 large preserved lemons (if you can’t find 2 lemons and the juice of 1 lemon)
20g parsley

Method

  • In a casserole dish add the butter and some olive oil and fry up the onions
  • Add the garlic and spices continue frying for about 1 minute, don’t let the garlic burn.
  • Add the chicken, mix into the spice and onion mix and brown off slightly
  • Mix the saffron strands with 2 tablespoons
  • of boiling water
  • Add to the casserole dish
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Add about 250ml of water and cook for about 1hr
  • Remove from the oven and add the preserved lemon but into quarters and the olives *
  • Continue cooking in the oven for a further 15 minutes
  • Remove from the oven and serve in individual bowls or a large serving bowl and sprinkle over the freshly chopped parsley

* If you don’t have preserved lemon, cut 2 lemons into eights and add to the chicken at the beginning of the cooking process. Add the olives and the juice of 1 lemon to the dish in the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Cumin and onion Pilaf Rice

Ingredients (for about 4 people)

3 tbs of olive oil
1 onion thinly sliced
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon of cumin seeds
3 cloves of garlic
1 cup of long grained (Basmati) rice
250ml of dry white wine
175ml of chicken stock
1 large pinch of saffron soaked in 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water
Chopped parsley to serve

Method

  • Heat the oil in a pan over a low heat and stir in the onions, salt, pepper. Cover and cook until the onion is tender but not brown.
  • Stir in the rice and the cumin seeds, increase the heat and cook stirring occasionally until the grains are opaque, about 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in the garlic, cook for about 3 seconds more
  • Add the wine, stock and saffron and it’s liquid
  • Cover, bring to the boil and then simmer until all of the liquid is absorbed
  • Take off the heat and allow to stand for a further 5 minutes.
  • Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary
  • Serve on  a large platter and sprinkle over the chopped parsley