Preserved Lemon Chicken Tagine for the Tagine!

photo by Debbwl





- Ready In:
- 3hrs 20mins
- Ingredients:
- 18
- Yields:
-
6 fairly large portions
- Serves:
- 6
ingredients
- 6 skinless chicken thighs (large) or 6 chicken breasts (chopped into large cubes)
- 5 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 large onions, roughly chopped
- 4 cups chopped tomatoes, fresh or 4 cups canned tomatoes
- 3 cups chickpeas (tinned not dried)
- 1 inch piece fresh gingerroot, minced
- 5 ounces dried apricots
- 2 tablespoons tomato puree
- 3 tablespoons good quality honey
- 1 pint boiling water
- 1 chicken stock cube, Maggi
- 1⁄4 teaspoon saffron strand, crumbled
- 4 teaspoons ras el hanout spice mix
- salt
- 1 small preserved lemon
- 1 tablespoon best quality olive oil
- fresh ground black pepper
- 1⁄2 cup fresh coriander, chopped to serve
directions
- Put the olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and gently colour the onion and minced garlic. Add the chicken pieces and seal well.
- In a large jug mix 1/2 pint of boiling water with 1 chicken cube and set aside.
- To the tagine add the ginger, ras el hanout, saffron, tomato puree and honey. Mix well.
- Add the chopped tomatoes, chick peas, stock and the apricots to the tagine and season well with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well with a wooden spoon and cover with tagine lid.
- Cook on a low heat for 2 hours. Remove the lid and add preserved lemon - rinse lemon well under cold tap. Remove and discard half of the flesh and finely slice the remaining flesh and peel. Add this to the tagine before replacing the lid and cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes or until the sauce is thick and well flavoured and chicken is ready to fall apart!
- (Add a little stock or water to the sauce if it seems a little dry or too thick. Cook a little longer of not thick enough or the chicken is not at falling point.).
- Finally serve in the tagine base dish with fresh coriander sprinkle dover the top. Serve with fresh baked bread or steamed cous cous.
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Reviews
-
Wonderful blend of flavors. Was surprised at how sweet it was (guess I was not thinking about the all the apricots in it). Served the coriander on the side as there was someone over who dose not like it. Made using Chef #621626’s Recipe #295914. Also made on top of the stove, although I think the crackpot would also work. Thanks for the post.
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This was really yummy, I left out the chickpeas, because I'm not a fan of cooked chickpeas (I love chickpeas in hummus only) but it just as I cooked it worked out for our taste bugs. I only cooked it for one hour (instead of two) because I used pre-chopped 1 kg of chicken thigh pieces and the chicken was so tender. I used Recipe #333862 for the lemon preserved and served it with Recipe #221217, perfect. Thank you Um Safia
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This turned out great! It was really delicious, and the chicken came out very tender. It had a wonderful flavor of saffron up front, with the other spices and the preserved lemon supporting in the background. The apricots went nicely with the other flavors. I used a dutch oven to cook it on the stovetop, which worked fine. I also used Julie B's Hive's Ras-El-Hanout Ras-El-Hanout (Moroccan Spice Blend). Thanks for posting!
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I made this tonight - It really was good!! I followed the recipe exactly, but wasn't sure how small a small lemon is - so I just used 2 quarters of 1 preserved lemon (normal size) and it was PERFECT. Thank you so much for posting . I will make this again. It was so tasty. Also thank you for the help you gave me buying a Tagine (in a question I posted a few weeks ago). Jan
see 1 more reviews
Tweaks
-
This was really yummy, I left out the chickpeas, because I'm not a fan of cooked chickpeas (I love chickpeas in hummus only) but it just as I cooked it worked out for our taste bugs. I only cooked it for one hour (instead of two) because I used pre-chopped 1 kg of chicken thigh pieces and the chicken was so tender. I used Recipe #333862 for the lemon preserved and served it with Recipe #221217, perfect. Thank you Um Safia
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
ABOVE: My eldest, Talha with his 'Zaar Star!
I'm 29 years old and have been cooking since I was old enough to wield a wooden spoon! My Mum is a fantastic cook and both my Grandmas were great cooks too.
I've also had the pleasure of working in two commercial kitchens - one which I ran and the other I was second chef of.
You can find me lurking in the NA*ME (North Africa / Middle East) Forum where I am a host:
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I am fortunate enough to have 2 children of my own now and enjoy cooking with my eldest who is almost 8 years old. My daughter is almost 3 & has now started joining me in the kitchen & 'helping'. She likes to stand on a chair next to me, give instructions & stir.
We eat food from all over the world but my husband prefers it like 'mama used to make' or in his case ''like yemma makes it'' as he is Algerian! We are currently living in the UK after living in Algeria for a while. You will notice that I have posted quite a few Algerian classics.
If I had the time and the money, I would spend all day every day trying new recipes! My husband has a 'recipe score' which is this:
1: "Add it to your recipe book - I loved it and wanna eat this again soon!"
2: "Interesting....I will enjoy eating this again."
3: "I cleared my plate but don't expect me to eat this again...ever."
However, I rate 'Zaar recipes the by the 'Zaar standard, so don't worry. Oh and fyi, I have a problem being negative so will probably NEVER give a rating less that 4*!!!
Other than cooking, I love anything arty-crafty and enjoy painting when I get the chance, which is rarely these days. I used to sell a lot of my creations and do things to order but just don't have the time at the moment.
I have a passion for gardening almost as strong as that for cooking. I tend to have 90% of it in pots though as I can't bear to leave it behind when we move - therefore we don't have a lot of stuff that we'd like to have as it wouldn't like being confined to a pot! I take great pride in my garden and love the summer months (the few that we get in the UK) when we can eat outside... and being a typical man, my husband likes any excuse to get the BBQ going - enough said!
By the way; I'm on a mission to re-educate people about soaking cous cous for use in North African recipes.,,just so you all know....it is traditionally STEAMED & not soaked!
Most of the North African recipes I have have been taught to me by my mother in law, sisters in law etc. A few have come from very old cookbooks. It has taken me a long time to get the dishes into some kind of recipe form as basically we "eyeball" the majority of the ingredients. Bear with me whilst I try to get the rest of the recipes in order!...
On a personal note, I abhor the mistreatment of animals and have taken care of many abandoned or injured animals over the years. Similarily, I love to help children and that is why my husband and I are in the process of becoming foster carers.
I have a thing about being polite and having good manners - they don't cost anything after all. Something that bugs me is when you hold a door open for someone and they don't even acknowledge you or if you need to go through a door and they won't hold it for you but let it slap you in the face!
I think we should all smile more - myself included....
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