Chicken Tagine With Dates And Honey Recipes

Steps:

• Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Heat 1/2 of the olive oil in a saucepan or casserole and gently fry the chicken until browned all over.
• Heat the other 1/2 of the olive oil add fry off the onion and garlic. Add the spices, stir well and fry gently for another minutes.
• Return the chicken to the saucepan / casserole. Add the stock, water and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to the boil, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour with the LID ON.
• Remove the lid. Simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the chicken is nice and tender and the sauce has thickened a little.
• Add the dates, honey and nuts. Mix well. Sprinkle with coriander and serve with steamed cous cous, rice, or fresh bread.

Steps:

• Stir together ground cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat well.
• Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or in skillet), uncovered, over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then brown half of chicken, skin sides down, turning over once, 8 to 12 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Brown remaining chicken in same manner, adding any spice mixture left in bowl.
• Add onion and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt to tagine and cook, uncovered, stirring frequently, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Tie cilantro and parsley into a bundle with kitchen string and add to tagine along with 1/2 cup water, chicken, and any juices accumulated on plate. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.
• While chicken cooks, bring honey, remaining cup water, cinnamon stick, and apricots to a boil in a 1- to 2-quart heavy saucepan, then reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are very tender (add more water if necessary). Once apricots are tender, simmer until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 10 to 15 minutes.
• While apricots cook, heat remaining 1/4 cup oil in a small skillet over moderate heat and cook almonds, stirring occasionally, until just golden, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.
• Ten minutes before chicken is done, add apricot mixture to tagine. Discard herbs and cinnamon stick, then serve chicken sprinkled with almonds on top.

Steps:

• For 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. Set aside to cool. When cool, remove from the pan into a bowl (leaving behind any remaining butter) and toss with the 1 T sugar. Set aside.
• In the tagine cooking vessel (or a broad saucepan with a cover, large enough to comfortably fit all 4 chicken thighs at once), heat 1 T olive oil over medium-high heat until hot. Salt and pepper the chicken thighs on both sides and sear until just golden brown, but not cooked through. Set them aside. The thighs will have rendered some fat; remove enough fat to leave only 1 T fat in the pan. Lower the heat to medium and saute the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes. Stir 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.
• Add the cider, chicken broth, and honey and bring to a boil. (Note: If you are using a tagine cooking vessel, add only half the liquid to begin with, then add the remaining liquid halfway through cooking time. Generally, a tagine is not large enough to accommodate all the cooking liquid at once.).
• Boil the liquid for about 5 minutes, until liquid has reduced slightly. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. To the broth mixture, add the sweet potato, half of the chickpeas and half of the dates. Nestle the chicken thighs in the pan and toss the remaining dates and chickpeas over the top. Cover 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. (Note: If you are using a regular pan, baste the dish every 15 minutes or so. If using a tagine, add the second half of the cooking liquid halfway through cooking time, when some liquid has steamed away).
• When cooked, remove from the oven and taste for seasoning. Add more salt, pepper, or honey as desired. Serve over cous-cous with sugared walnuts and yogurt on the side. (Note: for extra richness, you can stir 1 T butter into the broth until melted and the broth is shiny).

Steps:

• Mix garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric together. If not using kosher chicken, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pepper to taste. Rub chicken with mixture, cover, refrigerate and marinate 3 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove to platter. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to tagine, if you are using one, or leave in skillet. Add cinnamon stick.
• Put chicken on onions. Scatter with olives. Quarter the lemons, remove pulp and cut skin in strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
• Cover tagine or skillet. Place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is done. Scatter parsley on top, and serve.