Chicken Tagine
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg), preferably free range or organic, skin-on, jointed into 4 (get your butcher to do this for you) nb I cheated and used a mixture of thighs and legs and it worked just as well
olive oil
1–2 large bulbs of fennel
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
a small bunch of fresh coriander
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2–3 small preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped
80g black and green olives, stoned
a good pinch of saffron
500ml hot organic chicken stock
For the spice rub
1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed up
1 level teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Method
The word ‘tagine’ refers not only to the dish itself, but also to the unique pot it’s cooked in. These thick earthenware pots are used all over Morocco and were introduced by nomads, who would use them directly over fire and ashes to create all sorts of beautiful stews with goat, lamb and chicken. Traditionally, the lady of the housewould be in charge of cooking the tagine, and that is still very much theway it is today. Apparently, that's one of the ways they express their love and affection. So aword to the wise – if your missus feeds you a dodgy-tasting tagine, look out! Making this dish in a proper tagine definitely adds to the beauty of it, but essentially it’s a stew
with deep, lovely flavours and you can still get an authentic taste using a conventional heavy-based casserole pan. I think this recipe delivers every time, and it really makes good use of one of the star flavours in tagines: preserved lemons.
Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put your chicken pieces into a large bowl, massage them with the spice rub then cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours or, even better, overnight.
When you're ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type pan and fry the chicken pieces over a medium to high heat, skin side down first, for about 5 to 10 minutes until gorgeous and golden brown.
While your chicken fries, chop each fennel bulb into 8 wedges and add these to the pan along with the onions, coriander stalks and garlic.
Stir well and fry for a couple more minutes, then mix in the preserved lemons, olives and saffron. Pour in the hot stock, give everything a good stir, then cover with a lid or foil and simmer on a lowheat for 1½ hours, or until the meat starts to fall away from the bone.
Halfway through, have a check and give it a good stir. Keep an eye on it and add a splash ofwater if it looks dry. When the time’s up and your chicken looks perfect, stir gently. If it’s still a bit liquidy, leave it to blip away with the lid off until thickened slightly.
Have a taste, season with a pinch of salt and pepper if you think it needs it, then sprinkle with the coriander leaves. There’s enough love and care in the tagine for it not to need anything fancy, so serve it simply, with a large bowl of lightly seasoned steaming couscous.
Beef Tagine
ingredients
600g stewing beef
olive oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
a small bunch of fresh coriander
1 x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
800ml vegetable stock, preferably organic
1 small squash (approximately 800g), deseeded and cut into 5cm chunks nb I used a couple of sweet potatoes peeled and chopped
100g prunes, stone and roughly torn 2 tablespoons
flaked almonds, toasted
For the spice rub
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 level tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix*
1 level tablespoon ground cumin
1 level tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 level tablespoon ground ginger
1 level tablespoon sweet paprika
method I like to think of a tagine as a sort of stew with attitude. It’s really all about the spices and the slow cooking, giving all the wonderful flavours time to develop. What’s great is that you don’t need an authentic Moroccan tagine in order to recreate this beautiful food – a saucepan will still give you great results. Having been to Marrakesh and learnt all the principles, I now feel I'll be able to rustle up an endless variety of tagines at home.
Give this one a try and you’ll see what I mean.
Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put the beef into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with cling film and put into the fridge for a couple of hours – ideally overnight - that way the spices really penetrate and flavour the meat.
When you’re ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole– type pan and fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes.
Add your chopped onion and coriander stalks and fry for another 5 minutes.
Tip in the chickpeas and tomatoes, then pour in 400ml of stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on the pan or cover with foil and reduce to a simmer for 1½hours.
At this point, add your squash, the prunes and the rest of the stock. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1½ hours.
Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry. Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes, more with the lid off. The beef should be really tender and flaking apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or two of salt.
Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine along with the toasted almonds, then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in
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