Chicken and Date Tagine

Submitted by Lou van

"From Olive magazine, posted for ZWT6"

 

• Ready In: 1hr 30mins
• Ingredients: 17
• Serves: 4

ingredients

• 8 chicken thighs, on the bone, skin on
• 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
• 1 red onion, cut into wedges
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 400 g cherry tomatoes
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 8 medjool dates, halved
• coriander leaves, from a large bunch

• SPICE PASTE

• 1 small red onion, roughly chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• thumb sized piece gingerroot, roughly chopped
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon mild chili powder
• coriander, roots from a large bunch
• 1 lemon, zested and juiced
• olive oil

directions

1. Heat the oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5.
2. Put all the spice paste ingredients in a small food processor with 2 tbsp olive oil and whizz to a paste.
3. Brown the chicken thighs all over in a tagine or large, wide pan.
4. Scoop out then add the spice paste and cook for a few minutes until fragrant.
5. Add the squash, onion, stock, tomatoes and cinnamon and stir.
6. Sit the chicken on top (push down a bit into the sauce). Cook uncovered in the oven for 40 mins then add the dates and cook for anothe r20 minutes - the chicken should be browned and cooked and the sauce reduced.
7. Scatter with coriander and serve with buttered couscous.