Chicken Tagine with Couscous

Yield

Serves 8. 2 cups dried couscous makes 8 cups cooked.

Ingredients

Tagine

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 16-18 chicken thighs, bone-in, with or without skin
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cups carrots, large dice
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
• ¾ cup dried apricots, sliced (or diced prunes, raisins, or diced dried figs)
• ¾ to 1 tsp turmeric (add more as desired)
• ¾ to 1 tsp paprika (add more as desired)
• ¾ to 1 tsp cumin (add more as desired)
• ¾ to 1 tsp coriander (add more as desired)
• 2 to 3 cups low sodium chicken stock (as needed)
• Salt and pepper, to taste
• 3 tbsp lemon juice
• 4 tbsp sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish
• Parsley or cilantro leaves, for garnish
• 1 lemon, cut into wedges, for garnish

Couscous

• 2 ½ cups water or stock
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 10 threads of saffron
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups instant couscous

Steps

Tagine

1. Season chicken on both sides with a little salt and pepper.
2. In a sauté pan, Dutch oven or tagine heat the olive oil. Carefully add in chicken. Brown chicken in batches on both sides and then remove chicken from the pan and set aside.
3. Place onions and carrots in pan and sauté until slightly brown. Add in garlic, tomatoes, sliced apricots, spices, and 2 cups of the chicken stock. Bring mixture to a simmer and return the chicken to the pan. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice to taste. Adjust level of stock (no more than half way up), cover and simmer for about 35 to 40 minutes until chicken is tender.
4. Serve over warm couscous and garnish with toasted almonds, cilantro or parsley leaves and lemon wedges.

Couscous

1. Bring water or stock to a boil with the salt, saffron, turmeric and olive oil.
2. Reduce to a simmer; gradually add in couscous and stir continuously for 2 minutes until liquid is absorbed. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes.

Source

Chef Joe’s Culinary Salon, joe@theculinarysalon.com.