I adapted this James Martin recipe that I found here: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chicken_and_lemon_tagine_75608
Serves 4
In a tagine or large casserole dish, heat some butter or oil and gently brown the chicken joints all over, then remove the chicken from the tagine with a slotted spoon leaving as much of the fat as possible in the pot.
Add the sliced onions and stir for a minute, then add garlic and ginger. Fry gently for a few minutes until the onions has softened and the mixture has turned a lovely golden colour.
Add all the spices and cook for a minute or two, stirring well. Add the chicken back to the pan and make sure the meat is evenly covered with the spice and onion mixture, then add the stock and slowly bring to the boil. You now either cook the tagine on a low heat on the hob or as I prefer you can cook this in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius (or 180 for a non-fan over). Either way cook with the lid on for 45 minutes. After this time, remove the lid, add the dates and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken pieces are tender.
It is a good idea to stir occasionally through both cooking times and keep an eye on the the chicken pieces so that they don't overcook. Serve with buttered couscous, or as I love to serve with a tagine, steamed dwarf beans dressed in melted butter, ground cumin and lemon juice.
Serves 4
- 4 chicken joints (ideally from one chicken, ie: two drumsticks and two thighs)
- 2 large onions, finely sliced
- 2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed and finely chopped
- 2-3 inch piece of ginger
- 1 whole preserved lemon, roughly chopped
- 1 400g tin of chickpeas
- 2 sticks of cinammon
- 1tsp cinammon
- 2 tsp ras-el hanout
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- Bunch of parsley roughly chopped
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 1 tbs lightly flavoured runny honey (such as acacia)
- 150g dates, stoned and halved
In a tagine or large casserole dish, heat some butter or oil and gently brown the chicken joints all over, then remove the chicken from the tagine with a slotted spoon leaving as much of the fat as possible in the pot.
Add the sliced onions and stir for a minute, then add garlic and ginger. Fry gently for a few minutes until the onions has softened and the mixture has turned a lovely golden colour.
Add all the spices and cook for a minute or two, stirring well. Add the chicken back to the pan and make sure the meat is evenly covered with the spice and onion mixture, then add the stock and slowly bring to the boil. You now either cook the tagine on a low heat on the hob or as I prefer you can cook this in the oven at 160 degrees Celsius (or 180 for a non-fan over). Either way cook with the lid on for 45 minutes. After this time, remove the lid, add the dates and cook uncovered for 30 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced and thickened and the chicken pieces are tender.
It is a good idea to stir occasionally through both cooking times and keep an eye on the the chicken pieces so that they don't overcook. Serve with buttered couscous, or as I love to serve with a tagine, steamed dwarf beans dressed in melted butter, ground cumin and lemon juice.