Chicken tajine
Olives, lemons, raisins, spices--this chicken tajine is a favorite of ours for Sunday dinners. It's a dish whose flavors improve over a couple of days. The leftovers from Sunday take us into the start of the week with a couple of additional tasty meals.
You can go directly to the printable recipe (pdf) or I'll show you how to make it step-by-step...
Here's what you'll need ingredient-wise. Imagine that there are two medium carrots here, too. Those pesky carrots missed the group photo.
We're going to start by prepping the vegetables, flavorings, and spices (mise en place). This is what the prep will look like when we're done.
1) To dice 2 onions, cut the ends off each onion and split in half lengthwise...
...place cut-side down and slice through lengthwise...
...make crosswise cuts to create the dice. Set diced onions aside in a bowl.
2) Measure out 1 1/2 tablespoons sweet Hungarian paprika...
...and 2 teaspoon ground ginger...
...and 1/2 teaspoon turmeric...
...and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne...
...and 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon.
~ I love all those spices! Now, on to the flavorings. ~
3) Cut 3 lemons into 6 pieces each for a total of 18 lemon pieces.
4) Measure out 1 cup of golden raisins.
5) Cut 1 cup of pitted black olives in half. I used Nicoise olives here because that's what I had in the fridge--Kalamatas work great here, too. Add the sliced olives to the lemons and raisins.
6) Next is 1 cup of pitted green olives. These were pretty large and my Nicoise olives small, so I cut the green olives in quarters. Add these to the other flavorings (lemons, raisins, black olives).
~ Vegetables are next. ~
7) To dice 2 peeled medium carrots, cut in half lengthwise and cut each half lengthwise again, creating four long pieces...
...gather the four pieces together and cut crosswise to dice. Set diced carrots aside in a medium bowl.
8) To dice 2 red peppers, cut the ends off the peppers...
...open up the pepper with a single lengthwise cut and remove the seed and white membrane...
...cut into lengthwise strips...
...and then cut the strips crosswise. Use a similar procedure to dice the pepper tops and bottoms. Add the diced pepper to the carrots.
9) To dice 2 medium zucchini, use the same procedure as for the carrots...
...using the crosswise cuts to make the dice. Add the diced zucchini to the carrots and peppers.
~ From here, you have two choices: you can go outside and grill 4 medium (unboned, skin-on) chicken breasts--about 3 pounds, in which case you'll skip Steps 10, 12, 17 and 18. Or, you can do the "inside" method of cooking them on the stove. We often grill the chicken, which adds a nice bit of smoky flavor. But cooking them in the pan gives the dish some extra-chickeny goodness, so that's what I'll demonstrate here. ~
10) We're going to cut each of the 4 chicken breasts halves in half crosswise. I find it's easiest to start this with a sharp knife...
...but finish the job with some heavy-duty kitchen or poultry shears. Set the prepared chicken pieces aside.
11) In a dutch oven, heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat.
12) Brown the chicken pieces (in batches) on both sides (2 minutes per side should do the trick)...
...here's my chicken-browning set up. The browned chicken pieces are on the plate; I'm using a screen cover on the dutch oven because there can be some splatter while browning the chicken.
...after browning the chicken your pan may look like this. No worries, though, these browned bits will add extra flavor to the tajine.
13) To the dutch oven, add the diced onion...
...and cook the onions, stirring occasionally, until very soft and turning golden brown. This could take 10 to 15 minutes.
14) Add the prepared spices to the onions...
...cook the onion and spices together for a couple of minutes, stirring.
15) Measure out 3 cups of chicken broth...
...and add it to the dutch oven...
...scrape up any browned bits that might be lurking on the bottom of the pan.
16) To the dutch oven, add the flavorings (lemons, olives and raisins).
17) Next, you're going to add the browned chicken pieces to the dutch oven...
...cover the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Gently cook the chicken for 15 minutes, until it has just barely lost its pink color.
18) Remove the cooked chicken pieces from the dutch oven and set aside.
19) To the dutch oven, add the diced vegetables (carrot, red pepper, and zucchini). Simmer the vegetables, uncovered over medium heat for 10 minutes. They should be just tender.
20) While the vegetables are cooking, remove the cooked chicken from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces.
21) When the vegetables are done simmering, remove ALL the lemon pieces from the tajine. If you cut three lemons into six pieces that means you need to fish out 18 lemon pieces. Leaving the lemon pieces in any longer can make the dish too acidic. We left them in overnight once. Boy, was that a mistake. Talk about pucker-power!
22) With the lemon removed, add in the bite-sized chicken pieces...
...and over medium heat, warm the tajine through.
We like serve the tajine with couscous prepared with chicken broth. The tajine is a seriously good party dish because it's actually better the next day and it literally takes 5 minutes to prepare couscous.
Here's what you need to make the couscous. Note the date on the chicken broth...always a good idea to date items to keep them moving through the fridge. Even though they may seem optional, I highly recommended including both the salt and butter in the couscous. Remember, each component of a dish should taste delicious on its own. The amounts below make enough for 4 -6 side servings of couscous to go with the tajine.
1) Put 1 1/4 cups of chicken broth in a small saucepan.
2) Add 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3) Cover and bring to a boil.
4) To the boiling broth, add 2 tablespoons of butter.
5) Add 1 cup couscous.
6) Give the ingredients a stir...
...cover and remove from heat. (This is sitting on a cold burner.) Let stand 5 minutes.
7) Fluff the cooked couscous with a fork.
Chicken Tajine
Makes 6 to 8 servings.
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 lbs. bone-in (skin-on) chicken breasts, cut in half crosswise
2 onions, diced
1 1/2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoons turmeric
1/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper powder
3/4 teaspoons cinnamon
3 cups chicken broth
3 lemons each cut into 6 pieces
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup pitted black olives (such as Kalamatas), sliced in half
1 cup pitted green olives, sliced in half
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
2 medium red bell peppers, diced
2 medium zucchini, diced
Couscous
- In a large (8 quart) dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken in batches, browning well, transferring to a plate when done.
- Add the onions to the dutch oven and saute until very soft and turning golden brown, 10 to 15 minutes.
- To the onions, add the spices: paprika, ground ginger, turmeric, cayenne, and cinnamon. Saute the spices with the onions for about 2 minutes.
- Add the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add the lemon pieces, raisins, olives, and browned chicken. Bring to a simmer and reduce heat to medium low. Cover and gently simmer for 15 minutes, until chicken has just barely lost its pink color.
- Remove the chicken pieces from the pot.
- Add the diced carrots, red pepper, and zucchini. Simmer, uncovered, over medium heat for 10 minutes, just until the vegetables are tender.
- While the vegetables are simmering, remove the cooked chicken from the bone and cut into bite-sized pieces.
- When the vegetables are done cooking remove ALL the lemon pieces from the tajine.
- Add the bite-sized chicken pieces and heat the tajine through.
- Serve with couscous.
Download printable recipe (pdf)
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Beautiful site! I love the step by step photos and the very clean, uncluttered look.
Just one question re: the tangine....what would happen to the recipe if you added the lemons just cut in half instead of 18 pieces? Would it change the flavor at all? Just seems less of a task to remove near the end.
Thanks! I will return for each new post!
Posted by: mirinblue | March 26, 2008 at 11:26 AM
Marinblue - I think the only difference with cutting the lemons in half is that less surface area of the lemon is exposed, so there would be likely be less lemon flavor infused. But, then again, you could probably compensate by just leaving them in a bit longer. Probably a great shortcut suggestion!
Posted by: Heidi | March 27, 2008 at 05:28 PM
Oooh this one looks so good, I used to work in a Middle Eastern Restaurant and really got into tajines. This looks like a fabulous version of it. (--jessies sister)
Posted by: Cakespy | March 27, 2008 at 08:02 PM
What a great blog. I love the step by step photos. Can't wait to try this recipe!
Posted by: Mary Coleman | March 28, 2008 at 05:36 AM