Chicken (or Vegetarian) Tagine

Oh dear. I made this two Thursdays ago, but never posted it. Oops!

It is, however, the Most Delicious Thing Ever, so perhaps I can be forgiven. I had to bask, you see.

...Right.

If the photos don't make it look like the Most Delicious Thing Ever, well, that's because I couldn't get a proper photo on Thursday, and had to wait till Friday to drag the not-quite-sorry leftovers upstairs and subject them to a photoshoot.

Please note that you can make this vegetarian if you so choose – or you can make a part of it vegetarian, like I did, especially if the vegetarian in question will eat chicken broth. (But if not, just use vegetable broth!) You can also make it gluten-free by substituting cornstarch for the flour.




Many more pictures if you read more...

CHICKEN (or VEGETARIAN) TAGINE
adapted from The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

Ingredients
1-1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed (3-4 small-medium; 2 large), for non-vegetarian
salt and pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour (or cornstarch)
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
2 onions, halved, and sliced 1/4 inch thick (or smaller)
1 orange, separated into: 4+ 3-inch strips orange zest,* plus about one teaspoon grated zest, and 2 tablespoons juice
8 garlic cloves, peeled and pressed or minced
2-1/2 teaspoons paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala**
4 cups low-sodium chicken (or vegetable) broth
1 tablespoon honey
1 pound carrots (about 6), peeled, halved lengthwise, and sliced 1-inch thick (or chopped into discs)
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), rinsed
3 green onions
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup dried apricots, chopped medium or minced
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro or parsley
cooked rice, jasmine or other preferred rice***


Directions

1. Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken with the flour or cornstarch, shaking to remove the excess. Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat until just smoking. Brown half of the chicken thoroughly, 5 to 10 minutes, and transfer to a plate. Repeat with 2 teaspoons more oil and the remaining chicken; transfer to the plate.

2. Add the remaining 2 teaspoons oil to the pot and heat over medium heat until simmering. Add the onions (not the green onions) and orange zest strips and cook until the onions are softened and lightly browned, 5 to 7 minutes. Stir in the garlic, paprika, and garam masala and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Slowly stir in the broth and honey, scraping up any browned bits.

3. Stir in the carrots, chickpeas, green onions, tomatoes, and apricots. Arrange the chicken in a single layer over the top and bring to a simmer. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook until the chicken registers 160 degrees on an instant-read thermometer (or until centers are no longer pink), 10 to 15 minutes.

4. Transfer the chicken to a bowl; when cool enough to handle, shred the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Meanwhile, continue to simmer the stew until the liquid has thickened sightly and the carrots are tender, 5 to 10 minutes longer. (If you are making vegetarian and non-vegetarian tagine out of one batch, this is the point at which you would separate them into separate pots.)



5. Stir in the shredded chicken (to the non-vegetarian pot), cilantro or parsley, orange juice, and grated orange zest. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve over rice.


* Just take a vegetable peeler to the outside (peel) of your orange. I couldn't get strips, just large blobs, so I cut those blobs into 1/4-inch strips. The original recipe says to take them out of the dish at one point, but I ate one to test it out, and it was delicious, so I left it in. You can have a look at the original recipe, below, if you'd like to know when to take it out.

** If you don't have garam masala, you can just mix your own:

1/2 teaspoons cumin (or less; this is what mostly controls the spiciness level)
1/4 teaspoon coriander
1/4 teaspoons cardamom
dash of pepper
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg

*** One cup of uncooked rice will serve about two to three people. I made two cups to serve about five people, and it seemed to work out.








(Click to see it bigger. I have defaced my precious cookbook.)


(This is how it looked the night I made it. It's a little bit less congealed-looking)