A tagine is a dish as well as a dish and while one like this beauty can be a useful kitchen addition, don't let the lack of it stop you from making the dish. Are you confused yet? Good then read on!
What I'm trying to say is, while I covet the one shown in the picture from Williams Sonoma, I didn't let the dream of having it stop me from the reality of making this lovely Moroccan stew for last night's dinner. My favorite 8 quart oval Dutch oven worked just fine.
Picture plump chicken drumsticks marinated for hours in garlic, crushed cumin seeds, paprika, tumeric and olive oil then browned and braised in onion, saffron and sliced lemons. Topped with firm green olives and chopped cilantro, the sweet spicy result hit a bed of chewy bulgar instead of the usual rice or couscous and left us wishing we weren't practicing the "push away diet" because seconds would have been sublime. The bonus is there's plenty left for lunch today and I'm thinking it will be unbelievable.
By the way, I used 6 large drumsticks and left the skin on the beauties because honestly, I missed the part where they specified "skinless". I also added 2 small meyer lemons rather than the single golden orb called for. Yes, imagine our luck when we found bags of Meyer lemons at our local Fred Meyer store, some of which are being preserved in salt as we speak.
Anyway hit the link for the official recipe at Saveur, but I made a few subtle changes and have listed my version below.
Chicken and Onion Tagine (from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Saveur)
6 to 8 large chicken drumsticks
5 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
6 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons cumin seeds, crushed
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon crushed saffron threads mixed with 1 cup warm chicken stock
4 medium yellow onions, peeled and cut into wedges
Freshly ground black pepper
2 small Meyer lemons, sliced and seeds removed
1-1/4 cups pitted green olives
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Place chicken drumsticks into a large zip top bag. Smash and chop garlic then make a paste of garlic and salt. Add to zip bag along with 3 tablespoons oil, cumin seeds, paprika and turmeric. Seal bag and massage chicken to incorporate spices. Refrigerate for minimum 4 hours.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in a large Dutch oven. Remove chicken from marinade and brown on all sides. Remove from pan and set aside. Add onions and ground pepper to the pot and cook until onions are softened. Return chicken to the pot and add lemon slices as well as saffron, chicken stop mixture. Cover pot and simmer for 40 minutes or until onions and chicken are very tender. Add green olives and cilantro. Serve on rice, couscous or bulgar. Serves 4 to 6.
A year ago - Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon
Two years ago - Shredded Apple Pie
Perfection!
Posted by: Lea Callais | 12/15/2013 at 05:35 PM
My Tangine isn't nearly as pretty as the one pictured but it does the job. Love this combo of flavors. Wish T liked olives.
Posted by: Lorraine | 12/22/2013 at 09:32 AM