Sunday 21 October 2012

Cold Nights = Warm Dinner

In Morocco, a stew that's cooked low and slow is called a tagine. Tagines are easy to make, use inexpensive cuts of meat, and make your whole house smell fantastic. I love them. 

However, a traditional tagine is cooked in a pot of the same name and I don't have a tagine. They're big earthenware pots with a lid that's curved up like a chimney to help cook the stew. I think my tagine would be better if it was cooked in the correct pot, but I really don't have room to store a pot that I'll use so infrequently. 

Luckily, this recipe is so easy to make that using any kind of covered oven safe pot with a lid will do. I bet even covering a baking dish with tin foil would do the trick. 

Read on for the recipe. I know you love it. 

Chicken and Squash Tagine

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
1 teaspoon each paprika and turmeric
1/2 teaspoon each salt, cinnamon, and ginger
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of boneless and skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite sized pieces
2 cups chicken stock, homemade or purchased
1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup olives, pitted and halved
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped
1/4 cup parsley, chopped for garnish

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine all ingredients (except for parsley) in a large oven safe pot with a lid. Stir to combine.

3. Cover the pot and bake until the chicken is cooked through and the squash is tender, about 60 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Serve with couscous and top with chopped parsley. Enjoy!

If you want to add a little extra flavour and speed up the cooking process, try browning your chicken thighs on your stove before adding them to the pot destined for the oven. Then deglaze your pan with some of the chicken stock and away you go. You will have another dish to clean, but I bet it would be worth it.

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