MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE
with Simple Couscous
About the Recipe
I love Moroccan food and for me, there's nothing better than a really good tagine. This one is spectacular. Because I've taught this recipe a number of times in class, I've come to realize that many (most?) people think you need special equipment, i.e. a ceramic tagine dish, to create a proper tagine.This is absolutely not the case and a heavy casserole or Dutch oven will seamlessly do the trick.
November is the month when holiday guests and extra busy-ness kick into gear. This recipe is great for a crowd. And even better, once cooled completely and defatted, it freezes perfectly. Just defrost and re-heat when needed.
There are a lot of ingredients, but once you have them, the recipe itself is not hard. Sometimes I brown the chicken pieces in a separate skillet or use a separate skillet in addition to the casserole to get things going a bit faster.
An added perk is that it tasted better made up to 4 days in advance. Like soups and stews (it is in fact a stew) tagines improve when the flavors have a couple of days to come together. This one can be prepared up to 4 days ahead. Refrigerate when cool. Then bring to room temperature and reheat slowly to serve.
Couscous takes five minutes to make once the water comes to a boil though I usually make it about 15 minutes ahead and let stand till I'm ready. Covered, it will stay hot for at least 30 minutes. Fluff it as best you can with a couple of forks but sadly, unless you are some sort of miracle worker, you won't get rid of every single lump so don't worry about them.
MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE with SIMPLE COUSCOUS
Serves 12
Ingredients:
For the Chicken Tagine:
2 large onions, finely minced (can use 10 cloves minced garlic instead)
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons ground ginger or 4 tablespoons grated fresh ginger
3 teaspoons salt
4 teaspoons ground turmeric
4 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
5-6 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
5 tablespoons olive oil
4 large yellow onions, thinly sliced
½ teaspoon sugar
2 1/2-5 cups homemade chicken stock or cups best store-bought chicken stock or use ROAST CHICKEN BETTER THAN BOUILLION (Better than Bouillion is preferable to most canned or packaged chicken stocks)
1 teaspoon crumbled saffron threads
30 Moroccan, Greek, Calamata or other pitted imported black olives, cut in half vertically if large
4 preserved lemons, seeded and cut into thin slivers
2 15-16 ounce cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2 bunches chopped cilantro
1 cup chopped pitted dates, divided
1/3 cup toasted chopped or slivered almonds and more cilantro to sprinkle over the top
For the Couscous:
3 cups couscous (regular or whole wheat)
4 cups water
3 tablespoons olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoons salt or more to taste
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper or more to taste
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon or to taste
Method
For the Chicken Tagine:
Combine all the spice mixture ingredients in a bowl large enough to comfortably hold chicken pieces.
Add chicken and toss to coat well. This can be done up to 24 hours ahead and refrigerated
Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large casserole. Brown chicken in batches, placing the pieces back in the bowl as browned. Add more oil as needed.
Add the sliced onions and the sugar to the pan, adding a little more oil if necessary and cook, stirring often for 10 minutes. Add the chicken back to the pan and continue to cook and stir until the onions turn gold, approximately 5-10 minutes more.
Add the stock and the saffron. Bring to a boil and then immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Skim off the fat.
After 30 minutes, add the olives, lemon and ½ cup of the chopped dates. Cover and simmer 30 minutes more or cook uncovered if the sauce seems too thin. Skim off the fat. Add more stock if the sauce is too thick. Chicken should be very tender and almost falling apart. If it is not, recover and simmer until it is. Add the chickpeas and remaining dates and cook another few minutes until everything is heated through
***At this point, you can let the tagine cool uncovered and then cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days. When ready to serve, remove any fat that has congealed on the surface, bring to room temperature, leave uncovered and reheat on top of the stove, over medium low heat, stirring often or in a 300F oven, stirring occasionally. Continue with recipe:***
When ready, serve over couscous (recipe below) or rice and sprinkle with the cilantro and chopped almonds. Or pass the condiments separately.
For the Couscous:
Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan along with the oil and the salt. Stir in the couscous. When the water comes back to the boil, cover and take the pot off the heat. Let sit at least 5 minutes.
When ready to serve, fluff couscous with a fork and break up lumps. Adjust seasonings