Fido, et al -
I've lurked here for quite awhile and always enjoy your recipes and pics. Many thanks for posting them.
If any of you ever want to go a little further south with your cuisine for a dinner on a weeknight (1.5 hours total), I've found this recipe to be fantastic...and you can substitute multiple types of meat or fish for the chicken. A little tweak of the spices and it always comes out perfect, no matter what the protein. I know the recipe sounds a bit strange, but the tartness, spice, and acid work perfectly together. This dish should be paired with couscous.
Note: If you don't have a tagine (which is preferred and every kitchen needs one) you can do this in a Le Creuset or other Dutch oven, just make sure it's heavy-bottomed and has a lid).
Chicken Tagine With Plums and Spices
Ingredients:
1/4C olive oil
1 large chicken (cut into 8 pieces)
Kosher Salt
1ts ground white pepper
1ts ground coriander
1ts turmeric
1ts ground cumin
1ts Madras curry powder
1 lg onion, thinly sliced
1 head of garlic, each clove peeled and thinly sliced
1TS chopped fresh ginger
2TS preserved lemon rind (just the rinds, not the flesh) - if you don't have preserved lemons, I've used regular lemons and it works just as well
2 tomatoes that are peeled, chopped, and seeded (easiest way is to blanch them for a couple of minutes and then throw them in an ice bath)
4 plums, quartered and seeds removed
1.5C chicken stock
2TS toasted almond slivers or slices (I prefer the slices)
Instructions:
Heat tagine over high heat with olive oil
Season chicken with S & P and place skin side down
While cooking, season other side of chicken with S & P and with the spices listed above (coriander, cumin, turmeric, and curry)
Turn chicken once, cooking for ~15 minutes until golden brown
Season onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes with S & P
Add them to the tagine
Top with part of the remaining spice mixture
Add lemon rind and chicken stock, cover
Cook for ~15 minutes
Add plums and cook for an additional 15 minutes
Toasted almonds:
2 options
1. Oven - 350 degrees on cookie sheet for 10-15 minutes tossing occasionally so they don't burn
2. Stove top - Nonstick, non-greased pan over medium heat until toasted, stirring often
To serve:
Line pasta bowl (my preference because it is like a plate but can hold the liquid) with couscous
Place chicken on top of couscous
Drizzle with vegetables and a bit of the cooking liquid
Top with toasted almonds
It's fantastic and I hope you try it. It's a great break from the Mexican, steaks, etc that we Texans tend to enjoy multiple times each week.