Chicken and Chickpea Tagine
Updated January 25, 2016
Craig Lee for The New York Times
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Comments
- Read comments
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Ingredients
2 tablespoons corn or canola oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt
Pinch nutmeg
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne
1 ½ to 2 cups chopped tomatoes (canned are fine; drain excess liquid)
4 cups chickpeas (canned are fine; drain and rinse first)
½ cup raisins or chopped pitted dates
½ vanilla bean
8 chicken thighs, or 4 leg-thigh pieces, cut in two
Chopped cilantro or parsley leaves
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)
149 grams carbs; 394 milligrams cholesterol; 1813 calories; 36 grams monosaturated fat; 21 grams polyunsaturated fat; 23 grams saturated fat; 89 grams fat; 27 grams fiber; 1686 milligrams sodium; 107 grams protein; 37 grams sugar
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Preparation
- Step 1
Put oil and butter in a large skillet or casserole, which can be covered later, and turn heat to medium high. When butter melts, add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, until it softens, 5 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, a large pinch of salt and spices. Cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, raisins and vanilla, and bring to a boil. (If mixture is very dry, add about ½ cup water.) Taste, and add salt as necessary.
- Step 2
Sprinkle chicken pieces with salt, and nestle them into sauce. Cover, and 5 minutes later adjust heat so mixture simmers steadily. Cook until chicken is very tender, 45 minutes to an hour. Taste, and adjust seasoning. Then garnish, and serve with couscous.
Private Notes
Comments
I used boneless, skinless thighs, added another onion, doubled all the spices and used half of a cinnamon stick instead of the ground cinnamon. I used fresh tomatoes and included the juices. I also added some chicken broth because for my family it's all about the gravy. Served over couscous with cilantro; it was delicious.
This was super tasty, but I made it per some of the recommendations posted here, and my own meddling.
Definitely double the spices - at least the cumin, coriander, and cayenne (not the vanilla, though). I also added a pinch of tumeric and 5 garlic cloves instead of 2. Instead of adding water, I drained the diced tomatoes and reserved the juice. If it needed more liquid I used that instead. I chose pitted dates, as I prefer them, and had it with quinoa instead of couscous.
Greetings Ulrich. I think Mark is pointing out that a tajine is traditionally not a dish with abundant sauce. Sauce tends to be only an inch or so deep. Be aware that your cast-iron Le Creuset, a lovely piece of equipment, is not a traditional tajine. In the Magreb they are made of terra cotta and the bottom is shallower than the Le Creuset version. When the sides are higher, there is more sauce than in those found in Morocco. Lower sides mean a dryer dish.
Delicious recipe and very easy. I cooked Rancho Gordo garbanzo beans so I used those. Next time, I would add zucchini, and I will add some to the leftovers tomorrow night. Preserved lemons would be a nice addition. I think next time, I would put it in my tagine and cook it in the oven (I have a convection stove so can't do it on that). We will have this again for sure.
When we lived in Paris for about nine years, our son‘s nanny was from Morocco. She used to be a caterer in Morocco for weddings. I learned how to cook Moroccan cuisine from her. If you’re using a tagine you go with layers start with the onions you would then put in the meat the chicken to Brown then you would layer on top the tomatoes and the chickpeas. the recipe that is listed with the New York Times - I used exactly the amount of tomatoes and liquid that they suggested, and it was perfect for the tagine that I have. One thing that I added Was a pinch of saffron it was delicious. Also I rinsed the chicken in lemon juice before salting and adding to the tagine. Traditionally, tagine was made the morning, left in warm coals to cook all day. So that the meal was ready after a day of work in the fields etc. Always “season” the tagine before use, and leave the tagine to cook on LOW heat, adding the water to the spout on top of the tagine and in the base/bowl as needed. It’s the original slow cooker! The longer, the slower the cook the more the flavors meld and soak into the meat and veg.
This was wayyyyy too salty. Good base but next time would not salt the chicken beforehand.