Chicken tagine with figs and coriander
Tagines are ideal for slow cooking Moroccan inspired dishes. The cone shaped lid is where all the magic happens; it returns the condensation formed during the cooking process back into the dish and, with it, the would-be-escaping, flavours.
Ingredients (serves 4):
Olive oil
8 to 10 chicken drumsticks
1 onion, chopped
1 Tbsp ground coriander
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 chilli, chopped
1 thumb sized piece of fresh ginger, grated
2 cups good quality chicken stock
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1 packet or a couple of big handfuls of baby spinach
A handful of fresh dates
8 fresh figs
A handful of almond flakes, roasted
A handful of fresh coriander
1 butternut, steamed
Cous cous to serve
Method:
1. Preheat your oven to 180°C. Place your tagine over a medium heat on the stovetop and fry the chicken in the olive oil until the skin turns golden. Remove the chicken and fry the onion until soft.
2. Add the spices, chilli and ginger to your onions and fry for a further five minutes.
3. Then put the chicken back in, adding the chicken stock, salt and pepper. Place the tagine lid on and put it in the oven for 40 minutes.
4. After 40 minutes, remove the tagine from the oven and add the spinach, dates and fresh figs. Place back in the oven and cook until the spinach has wilted. At this point you can begin cooking your cous cous. If you’re going to eat the meal right away you can sprinkle the cous cous into the tagine with the spinach as it will cook quite quickly. However, if you’re cooking ahead, rather cook your cous cous seperately so that it doesn’t become stodgy.
5. Serve with fresh coriander and toasted almonds and as an optional extra you could add some steamed slices of butternut.
Looking for more recipes inspired by the tagine? Head this way.
We put the tagine to the test – read about how it fared against a casserole.