Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine

You’ll be absolutely amazed at the depth of flavors in this dish – the fennel, dried apricots, raisins, cumin, coriander – it is all so breathtakingly aromatic. As it bakes, it fills your home with scents of Morocco and it takes your mind off of the here and now. Moroccan-style chicken tagine is a typical North African dish, more akin to a stew than a soup. Tagine refers to the name of the clay vessel that it is typically cooked in, so if you have a clay pot to put in your oven, by all means use that. If you have Dutch oven, that will do nicely too.

In Morocco, the spices put into the chicken tagine will vary from region to region, but if you stick to our ingredient list you will be rewarded with blissful spoonfuls of astoundingly fragrant stew. We’ve sampled it, served it, and it has been given accolades from all who have taken a bite. It is the dish to try out your ethnic cooking skills. And it is a very simple one pot meal, you are in for little fuss and a lot of flavor. While the tagine is baking and simmering away, you may want to prepare a small pot of cauliflower rice as a side dish, instead of the more common couscous.

If your meal calls for a glass of white wine, why not stay within the locale and discover a Moroccan wine that you have never tried before?

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tagine Recipe

Ingredients

• 3 lbs. chicken pieces
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 2 carrots, finely sliced
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, sliced in half
• 1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup raisins
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• Cooking fat
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Place chicken in a bowl, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle the garlic, cumin, coriander, ginger and turmeric; season to taste.
3. Toss everything together until well coated.
4. Melt some cooking fat in a dutch oven over high heat and brown the chicken pieces on each side for 2 to 3 minutes.
5. Add all the remaining ingredients to the dutch oven, give everything a good stir and cook for 4 to 5 minutes; then cover and place in the oven.
6. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until cooked through.