This is one of my favourite recipes. I fell in love with tajines on a family holiday in Morocco back in 2010 and have been making it ever since – and still everybody loves it! I often serve this dish if we have another family over for dinner, as it is perfect for adults and children, can be made ahead of time, and is a one pot meal….. (nobody likes washing up !)
Traditionally Tajine is served with cous cous , but if you would rather gluten free – it works well with other types grain such as brown rice, amaranth or my favourite buckwheat. Check out my blog on Ancient grains for more information on these alternatives.
- 1 kg of chicken thigh (ideally organic) – cut each into 1/4
- 1 tbs flour ( can be wheat, spelt, or rice)
- 2 tsp of each ground coriander, cumin, ginger
- 1 tsp of each ground cinnamon, turmeric
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 Tbs Olive Oil
- 2 Onions – thinly sliced
- 4 Garlic cloves, crushed or grated
- 1 1/2 cups chicken stock or homemade chicken bone broth
- 1 425g tin of crushed tomatoes (organic and BPA free lining)
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 400g tin of chickpeas ( organic and BPA free lining)
- 8 chopped and pitted madjool dates
- 1/4 cup fresh coriander leaves, chopped to serve
- 1/2 cup toasted flaked almonds, to serve
Combine flour and ground spices in a bowl and coat chicken. Heat Oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry onions until soft, then add in crushed garlic, and chicken pieces and fry until chicken has slightly browned all over, add in any extra spice mixture, bone broth, tomatoes and bay leaves.Simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove lid and cook for a further 15 minutes (to reduce the sauce), add chickpeas and dates and cooked for 10 more minutes. Serve topped with coriander and almonds. My husband always adds some dried chilly flakes to his!
You can make this ahead of time, and just reheat. I always make a double batch as the girls love having in their thermos for lunch at school the next day, and me too !
