Chicken and Chickpea Tagine
I got this recipe from the NYT; I've been doing that alot lately, what can I say? They post good recipes! The original of this called for 8 chicken thighs, but just for exblogger and me I figured I'd half the recipe. So that's what did with a few tweaks here and there.
4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
1 white onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp each of ground ginger, ground coriander, and ground cumin
1/4 tsp each of black pepper and ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/juice
1/2 c chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics)
1/4 c raisins
capful of fancy vanilla extract
In my Le Creuset, I put the cold oil and butter into a cold pan and brought it up to medium heat until the butter finished foaming then added the onion and a tiny bit of salt. I stirred it around and let it cook for probably 15 minutes until it got a little bit of color on it and then added the garlic, a bit of salt, and the spices and cooked for about 30 seconds. Then in went the chickpeas, tomatoes, raisins, vanilla, and a bit of chicken stock and warmed that through.
I washed and patted the chicken thighs dry and then sprinkled them with a bit of salt and then "nestled" them into the sauce. (I took this to mean "make sure they're down in the sauce but not totally covered by it".) I covered it and cooked on medium for about 5 minutes and then turned it down to low and set the timer for 45 minutes. I turned the chicken over halfway through cooking and stirred so nothing stuck. I did have to add some salt at the end, and I served it over buttered quick cooking couscous. See, here.
A few thoughts:
I know he said only vanilla bean, but I had extract and thought it turned out fine. I know he said it was supposed to be kind of dry, but I didn't want it to stick and wanted some sauce for my couscous so did not drain the tomatoes and added the chicken stock instead of water. I loved the raisins, and somehow my mate wound up with most of them. Next time, I'm going to do an experiment and add 1/4 cup chopped dates and 1/4 chopped raisins and double the spices. It might not be good that way, but I must know! :P Also, I've been using my iPhone to take the photos, and when there's light they turn out ok; but when there isn't, they're horrid. Perhaps I'll get a cheap digital camera so you don't have to squint. :P
This recipe was ridiculously easy--the hardest part was chopping the onion. If you like these types of flavors, give it a go! :>
4 chicken thighs, boneless and skinless
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp butter
1 white onion, chopped finely
2 cloves garlic, minced
Kosher Salt
Pinch nutmeg
1/2 tsp each of ground ginger, ground coriander, and ground cumin
1/4 tsp each of black pepper and ground cinnamon
Pinch cayenne
19 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes w/juice
1/2 c chicken stock (I like Kitchen Basics)
1/4 c raisins
capful of fancy vanilla extract
In my Le Creuset, I put the cold oil and butter into a cold pan and brought it up to medium heat until the butter finished foaming then added the onion and a tiny bit of salt. I stirred it around and let it cook for probably 15 minutes until it got a little bit of color on it and then added the garlic, a bit of salt, and the spices and cooked for about 30 seconds. Then in went the chickpeas, tomatoes, raisins, vanilla, and a bit of chicken stock and warmed that through.
I washed and patted the chicken thighs dry and then sprinkled them with a bit of salt and then "nestled" them into the sauce. (I took this to mean "make sure they're down in the sauce but not totally covered by it".) I covered it and cooked on medium for about 5 minutes and then turned it down to low and set the timer for 45 minutes. I turned the chicken over halfway through cooking and stirred so nothing stuck. I did have to add some salt at the end, and I served it over buttered quick cooking couscous. See, here.
A few thoughts:
I know he said only vanilla bean, but I had extract and thought it turned out fine. I know he said it was supposed to be kind of dry, but I didn't want it to stick and wanted some sauce for my couscous so did not drain the tomatoes and added the chicken stock instead of water. I loved the raisins, and somehow my mate wound up with most of them. Next time, I'm going to do an experiment and add 1/4 cup chopped dates and 1/4 chopped raisins and double the spices. It might not be good that way, but I must know! :P Also, I've been using my iPhone to take the photos, and when there's light they turn out ok; but when there isn't, they're horrid. Perhaps I'll get a cheap digital camera so you don't have to squint. :P
This recipe was ridiculously easy--the hardest part was chopping the onion. If you like these types of flavors, give it a go! :>