Moroccan Chicken & Chickpea Tagine -A flavorful Moroccan-inspired Dish Recipe

After reading the food article How to cook an authentic Moroccan tagine by Rebecca Davies in the "The Telegraph" I was so inspired to make something similar today. It was such a coincidence as I just saw a food program few days ago about Moroccan Food on the bbc channel. As chicken was bought yesterday, I had just about the right ingredients at home to make a chicken and chickpea tagine. This recipe is a mix of various recipes I found online, so this is by no means an authentic recipe, just my variation :)

The taste was absolutely amazing and I will definitely try more Moroccan food inspired recipes from now on. In the past I have been reluctant in cooking anything Morrocan, as I thought it look to complicated. But I have to say that after reading and watching the food network channel, especially watching Jenny Morris Cooks Marocco I have been greatly inspired to try more recipes with inspiration from this flavorful and colorful country. Jenny Morris is so warm, informative and engaging in her programs, I simple love watching her cook and share her recipes. 

Now, back to my Chicken & Chickpea Tagine recipe!

Ingredients:

A mix of chicken pieces (two drums, 5 wings, 1 breast)

1 cup butternut squash, diced

1/5 leek, chopped,

1 onion, chopped

2 carrots, sliced

1.2 yellow bell pepper

1 can of chickpeas, rinsed

1 can of chopped tomatoes

2-3 cups of chicken stock

2 tbsp of honey

1/5 cup of dried sultanas

3 tbsp olive oil

1 1/5 cup of couscous

2tbsp oliv oil

Spice mix: 1/5 tsp of turmeric, ground ginger, ground garlic, all season salt, pepper mix, paprika, cumin and coriander. 1/4 tsp cinnamon  1 tbsp of parsley. 4-5 slices of preserved lemon. (Feel free to add more/less of these above mentioned spices, to taste).

Process:

1- Dice and slice all the vegetables and chicken breasts evenly to ensure consistent cooking.

2- Place the chicken in a pot and add enough water to cover it. Bring it to a boil and cook the chicken through (this usually takes just a few minutes). Once the chicken is cooked, drain the water. Add all the spices, except for the lemon, along with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well so that the chicken pieces are well coated with the spices. At this point, the pot should smell heavenly!

3- Add all the vegetables, chickpeas, and chopped tomatoes to the pot. Pour in 2-3 cups of chicken stock and bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. 

  

4- Stir in the sultanas, then reduce the heat to low-medium. Let the tagine simmer for 30-45 minutes, allowing the liquid to reduce by half and all the flavors to meld together.

5- Before the tagine finished simmering, I scooped out half a cup of the broth and added it to 500 ml of boiled water. This flavorful liquid was then used to prepare the couscous, adding even more depth to the dish. Simply pour the hot liquid over the couscous, along with a little olive oil, and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it's fluffy.

 

Enjoy!