Recipe - Chicken Tagine with Tomato, Saffron and Honey

Ingredients

2 medium onions, sliced finely

1 clove garlic, crushed

1-inch knob fresh ginger, smashed

50g butter

Pinch of saffron threads

Olive oil

800g Italian whole peeled tomatoes, strained of all juice and crushed

4 tbsps honey

8 breast and thigh portions of corn-fed chicken, skin on

2 tsps ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

Maldon sea salt and ground white pepper

1 bunch coriander, stalks for the tagine, leaves for garnish

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup parsley leaves for garnish

Julienned skin of half a preserved lemon, for garnish

1/3 cup sliced almonds, gently pan-fried in butter, for garnish

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160˚C.

2. Sweat onions gently with garlic, fresh ginger, butter, saffron and a touch of olive oil for about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes and honey, and check seasoning. Put into tagine.

3. Season chicken with ground cinnamon, ground ginger, salt and pepper, and seal it in a frying pan until golden.

4. Press chicken into the sauce and lay coriander stalks on top.

5. Pour on the stock, and place in oven at 160˚C. Check after 25–30 minutes, cooking until a skewer inserted into the meat glides through with no resistance. Rest for 10–15 minutes.

6. Garnish with torn herbs, preserved lemon and almonds, and serve with couscous (see below).

Couscous

Serves 8

Ingredients

500ml chicken stock

Salt and pepper[SB1] 

1/3[SB2]  tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 [SB3] tsp ground ginger

1/4[SB4]  tsp paprika

500g instant couscous

1 small bunch of coriander stalks

1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

50g unsalted butter, diced

Method

1. Preheat oven to 170˚C.

2. In a straight-sided saucepan, bring chicken stock to the boil, and season with salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger and paprika.

3. Remove from the heat and pour in the couscous, stirring well to mix. Place coriander stalks on top, cover with a tight-fitting lid and let stand for 15 minutes.

4. Add olive oil and fork through, then cover and place in oven for 15 minutes.

5. Remove from oven, add butter and fork through again. Once the couscous is cool enough to handle, rub through any lumps with your fingers. Check seasoning before serving.