Chicken & Fig Tagine
Chicken & Fig Tagine
The perfect winter stew, made to satisfy everyone. Full of different flavors and spices it opens up the smell of the house. It can be made in a crockpot and forgotten about, or cooked for 1-2 hours with a result of tender chicken, and vegetable goodness. Tagine has a long history in Moroccan cuisine, and here I have simplified it for the average cook without stripping any flavors away.
Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes
Serves: 4-6 people
INGREDIENTS
1/4 cup flour
5 tbsp tagine spices
2 tbsp salt (or more to taste)
6-8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp EVOO
3 medium sized onions, peeled and large diced
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup raw chickpea, soaked overnight and drained
1 lb carrots, peeled and large diced
1 quart chicken stock
2 cups warm water
3 tbsp fig jam
2 cinnamon sticks
3 bay leaves
1 lemon, juiced
INSTRUCTIONS
In a small bowl, mix flour, 2 tbsp of tagine spice, and 1 tbsp of salt. Pat dry the chicken thighs and combine them with the flour and spice mixture.
In a large heavy bottom pot, melt 2 tbsp of butter and 1 tbsp of EVOO over medium heat. Once it’s hot, increase the heat and cook the chicken, for 4-5 minutes, until each side is brown. Once the chicken is all brown, set them aside.
In the same pot that you cooked the chicken, cook onions and garlic with 2 tbsp of EVOO over medium heat for 8-10 minutes until the onions are translucent. Make sure to scrape the chicken bits while you are cooking onions.
Add the chickpea to the pot. Cook them for 3-5 minutes. Then, add carrots, 3 tbsp of tagine spice, and 1 tbsp of salt. Cook everything together for another 6-8 minutes until vegetables are getting tender.
Add the chicken stock, and bring the mixture to a simmer.
In a small bowl, mix warm water with fig jam. Once the tagine is simmering, add the fig water, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaves and simmer for anoter 30 minutes.
After simmering, add the reserved browned chicken to the pot and cook for another 30-45 minutes.
Transfer the tagine to a serving bowl and finish it with a squeeze of lemon. Enjoy!