Chicken Tagine

This recipe for the classic Moroccan dish is from Betty Crocker's cookbook. The list of ingredients is a bit daunting, but there's nothing too unusual, just lots of spices. This would probably adapt really well to a crockpot, too, which would bring out the flavours of the spices more.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 chicken breasts or thighs
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I used 1tsp dried because I didn't have any fresh on hand and it was fine)
1 tsp ground cumin*
1 tsp ground turmeric*
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp salt
1 cinnamon stick (I just used 1 tsp ground cinnamon)
1 cup chicken broth
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup dried plums, cut into bite-sized pieces (I didn't have any so left these out)
1/2 cup pitted whole green olives
1 small lemon, cut into forths (I found this was too much lemon and will probably use half a lemon in future)
(I added a small handful of almonds as well just because it seemed like a good idea, and it was nice)

*Next time I will probably add slightly more turmeric and cumin and maybe a bit more cilantro because the spices seemed a bit too subtle. Still good, though.

Hot cooked couscous or rice

1. In 4 quart dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat. Place chicken in hot oil; add onion and garlic. Cook 6-10 minutes, turning chicken occasionally, until chicken is brown on all sides.

2. Reduce heat to medium. Sprinkle herbs and spices over chicken. Pour in broth and tomatoes. Turn chicken several times to coat evenly. Add plums, olives and lemon, pressing into liquid around chicken. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer about 30 minutes or until juice of chicken is clear.

3. Remove chicken to deep serving platter and cover to keep warm (I just left the chicken in the sauce). Boil sauce for about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened. Pour sauce over chicken and serve with couscous or rice.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Hi, Kate!

I am curious -- do you have a dutch oven? I don't, and I've just used a regular pot in the past, but I've always wondered if I'm missing out on something...
Unknown said…
You didn't ask me, G., but I love my dutch oven. Cook everything in it.
Anonymous said…
Hi Gwen,

No, I don't have a dutch oven. I just used a regular pot too. But going by what Shannon says, looks like I might be investing in one shortly!
Alissa said…
LOVE the dutch oven. Best Christmas gift I ever received. I use it all the time. For everything. It stays on my stove because I use it all the time and it is beautiful.

For the record, a lot of companies are making dutch ovens similar to the Le Crueset dutch ovens now, for much less money. It's just enameled cast iron, so I'm guessing they'll give the same results.

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