Moroccan Chicken Tagine With Tomatoes And Honey Recipes

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Mix cinnamon, cumin, turmeric, coriander, ginger, mint, salt, and pepper together in a bowl. Measure out 1/2 cup spice mix and set the remaining aside for another use.
• Bring a small pot of water to a boil; add apricots and raisins. Cook until fruit is soft, about 5 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of cooking water.
• Pour enough olive oil into a large skillet or Dutch oven to coat the bottom; turn heat to medium. Coat chicken with the 1/2 cup spice mix and place in the hot oil; cook until golden brown and releases easily from the skillet, 3 to 4 minutes per side.
• Mix onion and garlic into skillet with chicken; cook and stir until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add apricots, raisins, reserved 1/2 cup water from fruit, chicken broth, and honey; reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until chicken is very tender, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Serve chicken garnished with cilantro and almonds.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon. Combine 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove; set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pan over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip the chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have browned at the edges but still retain their shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add a few tablespoons of water now and then if the pan gets too dark). Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, honey, remaining lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken (with any accumulated juices) back in, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir in the olives, reserved lemon zest-garlic mixture, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve with couscous.
• Note: Don't fret too much over trimming the chicken thighs. The skin gets removed midway through the cooking process and most of the fat will cook off and get drained. I usually just take kitchen shears and quickly snip off any excess skin or fat. Cracked green olives are olives that have been 'cracked' or split open before curing, allowing the brine or marinade to penetrate. You can find them in your supermarket's olive bar, or substitute any green olive that you like.
• Make-Ahead: After you have completed the step of cooking the carrots, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm on the stove until the chicken is heated through, then proceed to the step where the olives and remaining ingredients are added.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH CARAMELIZED PEARS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Heat 2 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat and cook onions until softened and browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer onions into a tagine. Layer chicken pieces on top of onions.
• Combine turmeric, cumin, ground coriander, and salt in a small bowl; mix well with remaining 5 tablespoons olive oil. Spread spice mixture onto the chicken pieces. Add cinnamon pieces, bay leaves, ginger, and cilantro. Pour in 1/2 cup of water and cover tagine with a lid.
• Bake in the preheated oven until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and the juices run clear, about 50 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C).
• Melt butter in a skillet over low heat while chicken is cooking. Add sliced pears and honey and cook, while stirring, until honey has caramelized.
• Remove tagine from the oven and stir in caramelized pears. Return to the oven and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH HONEY AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• In a large pot, melt the margarine.
• Fry the chopped onions until soft, then add the chicken, salt, pepper, turmeric and cinnamon sticks.
• Don't worry, no one will make you eat a cinnamon stick unless you really want to.
• Add enough water to cover the chicken, about two cups.
• Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the chicken is done, adding water if necessary.
• Remove the chicken pieces.
• Add the apricots and simmer for about fifteen minutes.
• Add the ground cinnamon and the honey, stir and cook until the sauce has a honey-like consistency.
• Add more honey if necessary.
• When the sauce is almost ready, saute the almonds in oil.
• Drain most of the oil from the pan, and toast the sesame seeds.
• Return the chicken to the pot and reheat.
• Place the chicken on a serving tray, pour the sauce on top of it and top with the almonds and the sesame seeds.
• Serve with couscous (except on Passover).

MOROCCAN BEEF AND HONEY TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat half the olive oil in a large pan or wok and quickly brown the onion quarters over a high heat until charred and coloured well. (Break them up as you're doing this.).
• Add the carrots and the chopped garlic and stir fry for another 3 minutes. Tip carrots and onions into the tagine (or crock pot).
• Add the tinned tomatoes, dates and prunes to the tagine/crock pot and mix well.
• Add the honey and ras el hanout to the beef stock, stir well and add to the tagine/crock pot. Mix well, then add the cinnamon stick.
• Heat the remaining olive oil in the same pan in which the onions were cooked and cook the beef cubes in small batches over high heat to sear and seal them. As each batch is browned, add the beef to the tagine or crock pot.
• When all the beef is browned and in the tagine or crock pot, season with salt and pepper to taste. Ensure everything is just covered with the stock (if not add a little water). Mix well and slow cook for about 9 hours.
• When ready to serve, garnish with fresh coriander and toasted almonds.
• Serve on fluffy cous cous.