Moorish Moroccan Chicken Tagine Food

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon. Combine 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove; set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pan over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip the chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have browned at the edges but still retain their shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add a few tablespoons of water now and then if the pan gets too dark). Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, honey, remaining lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken (with any accumulated juices) back in, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir in the olives, reserved lemon zest-garlic mixture, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve with couscous.
• Note: Don't fret too much over trimming the chicken thighs. The skin gets removed midway through the cooking process and most of the fat will cook off and get drained. I usually just take kitchen shears and quickly snip off any excess skin or fat. Cracked green olives are olives that have been 'cracked' or split open before curing, allowing the brine or marinade to penetrate. You can find them in your supermarket's olive bar, or substitute any green olive that you like.
• Make-Ahead: After you have completed the step of cooking the carrots, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm on the stove until the chicken is heated through, then proceed to the step where the olives and remaining ingredients are added.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAJINE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.
• Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. RESERVE the lemon peel for later use.
• Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)
• In a large Dutch oven or casserole, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
• Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
• Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.
• Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most.
• Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn't look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

MOORISH MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat Oven to 350 (not required if you want to make this on the stove top).
• In a dutch oven or heavy large deep skillet heat 1tbsp olive oil over a medium heat.
• Slice the chicken thighs into 3-4 pieces each.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Lay the chicken piece into the oil and brown both sides - don't cok all the way through.
• Remove chicken and reserve on a plate.
• Add the rest of the olive oil and add the onions and cook until softened, keep stirring as you don't want them to burn.
• Add the cumin, paprika, cinnamon, chilli flakes and lemon zest and cornflour and cook for 1 minute, then add the the lemon juice, honey and chicken broth, apricots and prunes and chickpeas. Stir together.
• Add the chicken and any juices back to pot and stir through and cover.
• Either cook in oven for 1 hour or simmer gently on stove top.
• After 1 hour add the chopped coriander and serve over some cooked couscous or with rice.

SAFOI'S MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Combine the saffron, ginger, salt, pepper, olive oil, and canola oil in a large bowl. Set aside.
• Clean and thoroughly wash the chicken, then cut it into 8 pieces.
• Add the chicken to the bowl with the marinade, massaging the marinade into the chicken.
• Cut the carrots in half and remove their yellow cores.
• Open the tagine and lay the onion on the bottom. Arrange the carrots over the onion.
• Lay the chicken with all of the marinade over the vegetables. Add 1 cup (240 ml) water and cover.
• Cook on very low heat for 1 hour. Check at the 30-minute mark to ensure the bottom is not dry. Add another 1/2 cup (120 ml) water if necessary.
• In the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the olives and the preserved lemon.
• Garnish with parsley to serve.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat tagine, pan or wok over medium high heat, add almonds and dry fry until golden brown. Remove and set aside.
• Heat oil in same pan, then add garlic and onion and saute over low heat for 5 minutes.
• Chop chicken into 2 cm chunks, add to pan and cook for 10 minutes or so, turning regularly until browned on all sides.
• Meanwhile mix together harissa paste, water, currants, honey, cumin and cinnamon.
• Add mixture to chicken and mix well.
• Add chick peas, tomatoes (cut into sixths or eighths) and olives, if using. Mix well.
• Reduce heat to low, cover and cook.
• Cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
• Add more water if necessary, or if too wet, remove lid and reduce.
• Serve over couscous (preferably) or rice.
• Top with browned chopped almonds.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN & EGG TAGINE

Steps:

• Heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a tagine. Add the garlic, onion & chicken then brown until no longer pink.
• Pour in the broth & lemon juice then stir in the parsley, cilantro and spices. Cook covered until the chicken is thoroughly done (roughly 60 minutes).
• Break eggs into a bowl & whisk. Pour the egg mixture over the chicken & cook for another 10-15 minutes. Serve hot.

ESTHER'S MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Rub all pieces of chicken with a mixture of salt, pepper and cumin. Let stand for 1 hour.
• In a separate saucepan, cover the prunes with cold water and add the cinnamon. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 -30 minutes depending on dryness of prunes.
• Steam the onions in the casserole with the turmeric, saffron, ginger, salt, pepper and ¼ cup of water for 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile brown the almonds in a saucepan with oil and drain onto paper towels.
• Using the same oil and pan, brown chicken on all sides then transfer to the steamed onions and add 1 cup water. (this can be transferred into the tagine at this point and placed in oven ). Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
• Add the cooked prunes and some of the prune water to the tagine and continue cooking until the chicken and prunes are really tender.
• To serve, place chicken pieces on a serving dish (or simply leave in the tagine). Cover with prunes and sauce, then sprinkle with almonds and sesame seeds (if desired).

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Place cumin seeds, coriander seeds and the whole allspice in a spice or coffee grinder; process until finely ground. Combine cumin mixture, nutmeg, ginger, red pepper, and cinnamon; set aside.
• Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion and salt; cover and cook 10 minutes. Add 1 teaspoon cumin mixture, sugar, and black pepper; cover and cook 15 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375°.
• Add broth, and cook, uncovered, 30 minutes. Add raisins, chicken, and chickpeas; cover and bake chicken mixture at 375° for 30 minutes. Serve with couscous.