Back to UseMorocco
Recipetagine

Moroccan Tagine with Chicken and Dates

a tagine is both an cooking vessel and the dish it's prepared in, originating in africa. the conical shape of a tagine helps to baste the dish as it cooks. if you happen to have a tagine, that's great, but the dish works just as well in a medium or large covered pan. there are many variations on the dish, but in my family we like to use chicken thighs (with skin and on the bone, since they do well with the long cooking time). we've also done it with carrot in place of the sweet potatoes, and you can vary the fruit. sometimes we do golden raisins and dried apricot in place of the dates. the chile-ginger-cinnamon broth is sweet, spicy, and delicious. the sugared walnuts and yogurt are for serving. serve over cous-cous.

complex18 ingredients18 preparation steps
Map Nearby

Ingredients

  • walnut halves
  • butter
  • sugar
  • plain yogurt
  • chicken thighs
  • olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • onion
  • garlic cloves
  • cumin
  • ground coriander
  • cayenne pepper
  • cinnamon
  • ground ginger
  • chicken stock
  • honey
  • apple cider
  • sweet potato

Preparation

  1. 1for sugared walnuts: melt 1 t butter in a small saucepan and cook the walnuts over low heat until they are a shade darker and fragrant
  2. 2set aside to cool
  3. 3when cool , remove from the pan into a bowl and toss with the 1 t sugar
  4. 4set aside
  5. 5in the tagine cooking vessel , heat 1 t olive oil over medium-high heat until hot
  6. 6salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and sear until just golden brown , but not cooked through
  7. 7set them aside
  8. 8the thighs will have rendered some fat
  9. 9remove enough fat to leave only 1 t fat in the pan
  10. 10lower the heat to medium and saute the onion until translucent , about 5 minutes
  11. 11stir in the garlic , cumin , coriander , cayenne , cinnamon , and ginger and continue to saute until the garlic is softened and the spices are toasted , about 2 minutes
  12. 12add the cider , chicken broth , and honey and bring to a boil
  13. 13boil the liquid for about 5 minutes , until liquid has reduced slightly
  14. 14meanwhile , preheat the oven to 375 degrees
  15. 15to the broth mixture , add the sweet potato , half of the chickpeas and half of the dates
  16. 16nestle the chicken thighs in the pan and toss the remaining dates and chickpeas over the top
  17. 17cover the vessel and place it in the 375-degree oven for 50 minutes to 1 hour , until the sweet potato and chicken thighs are cooked though
  18. 18when cooked , remove from the oven and taste for seasoning