You ever have something sitting around your kitchen (or your house) and see it occasionally and think to yourself “I really need to use this, wouldn’t it be cool to try this new thing?”...and then time passes, and you do other things that you had already planned, and forget all about it until you see it again, and the cycle repeats, over and over? That’s happened for me with a gifted tagine we received for our wedding 2 years ago and another gift I received from my mother-in-law for Christmas. In fact, enough time had passed that I forgot exactly what was in the beautiful ceramic jar. I had been thinking it was preserved lemon, but it turns out it was candied ginger! Either way, I was set on using these items and made an awesome Moroccan Chicken Tagine. The aromas and flavors from this meal were spectacular, deep, and rich. If you don’t have a tagine, that’s ok; use a dutch oven instead for even heat. But, if you do happen to have a tagine, and a gas stove, be sure to buy a flame diffuser to place on the burner so as to not destroy your tagine (literally, it will crack the cold clay base, even if it is coated).
Moroccan Chicken Tagine
6 bone-in, skin-on, chicken thighs
¼ rendered duck fat
2 onions, peeled and thinly sliced
2 tbsp ras el hanout
1 tsp saffron threads
1.25 cups chicken stock
~15 green olives, pitted and halved
1 preserved lemon rind, minced (pulp discarded)
4 pieces of candied ginger, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
Prepared couscous
Melt 2 tbsp duck fat in a cast iron or other heavy bottomed skillet, set over medium-high heat. Season the chicken liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Brown the chicken, about 4 minutes per side, then transfer to a platter.
Meanwhile, place the remaining 2 tbsp of duck fat into the base of your tagine and place on the diffuser-covered burner, over medium heat. After a few minutes (it takes a little longer to heat a tagine with a diffuser, as opposed to a skillet), add in the onion, with a pinch of salt and cook, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent, approximately 15-20 minutes.
While the onions cook, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, placing the rack in the lower third.
Once the onions are translucent, add in the ras el hanout and saffron, crushing the threads in your fingertips as you sprinkle it into the tagine bottom. Stir into the onions and continue to cook until fragrant, 60-90 seconds.
Pour in the stock, as well as any juices from the chicken platter. Stir well and place the chicken into the tagine, skin-side up. Increase the heat and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, place the cover on the tagine and set in the oven. Bake for about 45 minutes.
Once the chicken has cooked, turn off the oven, transfer the chicken back to the (cleaned) platter and place back in the oven to rest while you finish the meal preparation.
Place the tagine, uncovered, onto a burner set at medium-low (now that the base is warm, you don’t need to use the diffuser, but can if you wish). Reduce the sauce for about 8-10 minutes. Then, stir in the olives, minced lemon rind, and ginger. Cook for a minute or so, then whisk in the butter, until melted.
Stir in the herbs, cover and remove from the heat. Let the tagine sit for 5 minutes.
To serve, place some couscous on a dish, top with the chicken, and spoon the onions and sauce over everything.
______________________________ Copyright 2023, Brendan McCann, All Rights Reserved.
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