Moroccan Chicken Tagine

For our next episode of Cooking Under Quarantine, we'll be making one of my favorite Fall dishes -- Moroccan Chicken Tagine. While my version of this classic Moroccan dish isn’t actually cooked inside of a tagine pot, but it echoes a lot of the flavors that I love when I ordering tagines at Moroccan restaurants — a little bit sweet, salty, sour, savory and the protein is always fall apart tender. It’s very comforting as the weather turns colder, and is also great to make in the slow cooker! So follow along with Chef Jon, and let us know how yours turns out.

Ingredients:

• 1 chicken cut into 8 pieces or 1-2 lb package of boneless chicken thighs
• 5-6 carrots chopped into chunks
• 2 medium onions, roughly chopped
• 1 cup of pitted green olives
• 1 cup dried apricots
• 4-5 garlic cloves
• Spices: smoked paprika, turmeric, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, coriander, Ras al Hanout (Moroccan spice blend)
• 1-2 cups of chicken broth
• 1/2-3/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 preserved lemons, chopped — Can buy preserved lemons at most specialty food stores, but can also substitute 2-3 regular lemons, juices and zest grated
• Parsley or Cilantro (optional)

1. Blend the spices and any other spices you like and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil -- enough to form into a rub and coat the chicken on all sides with it, Let the chicken marinate for at least 15 minutes in the spice rub
2. Sauté chicken in olive oil in a hot Dutch oven or deep pot on both sides until browned but not fully cooked through
3. Remove chicken and set aside. You’ll come back to it later
4. In same pot add garlic and onions and cook until starting to brown (approx 5 min)
5. Add carrots and keep cooking
6. If you have extra, season the veggies with more of the spice rub and heat until fragrant
7. Add preserved lemon and olives to the pot
8. Add broth and lemon juice to veggie pan to deglaze the pan, and make sure to scrape bottom of the pot for flavor bits — add just enough broth so that the liquid covers the ingredients
9. Add aprocots to the pot and make sure to give everything a good mix!
10. Add the chicken back in and stir all together — taste the liquid and adjust seasonings to your taste. Maybe add more lemon, salt, etc
11. Heat on medium high for 5-10 minutes until the liquid begins to simmer, then cover and lower heat to medium low and simmer for about 45 min – 1 hour
12. Garnish with fresh chopped cilantro and/or parsley then spoon over couscous or serve in a bowl with sides of your choosing.

I served this dish with some lemeon couscous, herb roasted tomatoes and some crusty bread to mop up the sauce. It was a big hit!