Chicken, Carrot and Apricot Tagine
The sweetness of the apricots paired with the savoury chicken and golden roasted almonds makes for a meal to remember.
Equipment
- Tagine Pot (see notes)
Ingredients
- 7 tbsp Olive Oil divided
- 1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
- 2 tsp Fresh Ginger grated
- ½ tsp Ground Turmeric
- 1 tsp Ground Coriander
- 1 tsp Ground Cumin
- ½ tsp Ground Black Pepper
- 3 lbs Chicken (either 2 ½ lbs chicken breasts, or a 3lb whole chicken) cut into pieces: discard the wings and backbone
- 1 tbsp Butter
- 1 Red Onion diced (large pieces)
- 4 Garlic Cloves finely diced
- 4 Carrots diced
- 1 ½ tsp Sea Salt
- 5 sprigs of Fresh Cilantro and Flat-leaf Parsley each
- ½ cup Vegetable Broth
- 1 cup Water
- 2 tbsp Honey
- 1 Cinnamon Stick 3 inches long
- ½ cup Dried Apricots halved
- 1/3 cup Slivered Almonds
Optional ingredients for serving:
- Couscous or cooked buckwheat gluten-free option
- Pomegranate seeds
- Raisins
- Harissa sauce
Instructions
- Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil with the butter in the base of your skillet or tagine pot over medium heat.
- While the oil and butter heat up, mix the spices (except the garlic, salt, and cinnamon stick) with 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large bowl. Add the chicken and toss to coat it with the marinade.
- When the oil is hot, brown the chicken in your tagine pot for 8-10 minutes. Turn frequently to make sure it doesn’t burn and check that the chicken is cooked by putting a knife through. The juices should run clear, not pink.
- When the chicken is cooked, take it out of your tagine pot and set it aside.
- Sauté the onions and garlic in the tagine pot with any remaining marinade for a few minutes, till the onions are soft. Toss in the carrots and cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the salt.
- Put the chicken back into the pot, along with the cilantro, parsley, salt, and vegetable broth. Turn down the heat and let simmer on low for 30 minutes, uncovered.
- While the chicken is cooking, put the honey, water, cinnamon stick, and apricot halves into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for a few minutes or till the apricots have softened and the liquid forms a glaze (about 10-15 minutes).
- While the apricots are softening, heat ¼ cup olive oil in another skillet or small pan, and sauté the almonds for 1-2 minutes, or till golden. Remove the almonds from the oil with a slotted spoon and let them drain on a plate lined with paper towels.
- Now add the apricot glaze to your chicken in the tagine pot. Remove the cinnamon stick and any extra parsley or cilantro (you can leave the herbs if you wish).
- Serve your tagine with a sprinkling of golden slivered almonds, raisins, pomegranate seeds, or olives.
- And for those who want an extra kick, harissa sauce is the perfect versatile accompaniment – served on the side.
Notes
This recipe works best with Moroccan tagine pot.
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