Ras Al Hanout Spiced Chicken Tagine Recipes

RAS EL HANOUT

Steps:

• Mix salt, cumin, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon, black pepper, white pepper, coriander, cayenne pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and cloves in a small bowl until evenly blended. Store in an airtight container up to 1 month.

RAS EL-HANOUT, MOROCCAN SPICED CHICKEN

Steps:

• To make the Ras al-hanout spice mixture: Combine the cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves in a small bowl.
• Thoroughly pat the chicken dry and dredge in the ras al-hanout spices until pieces are nicely covered but not over-loaded. Place in a bowl or large dish and scatter thyme and garlic over the chicken. Pour 1/2 C olive oil over and toss to coat thoroughly. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight if possible, or several hours.
• Remove marinated chicken and place on counter for 30 minutes. Heat 1 T. olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Remove chicken from the dish, keeping the marinade, and brown chicken on all sides in the hot oil. (Do not rush this as the browning will help keep the chicken from feeling "dusty" from the spice mix covering it. This is also why you do not want to over-load the chicken with the spice mix.)
• Set the chicken aside and add the onion to the Dutch oven, cook until translucent.
• Return the chicken to the Dutch oven, adding the lemon and the reserved marinade. Sprinkle generously with salt. Add enough broth to almost cover the chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken has begun to pull away from the bones and is quite tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• Remove the lid the last 15 minutes of cooking time to reduce the broth. If it needs to reduce further, remove the chicken and boil the broth until nicely reduced to approximately 2 cups, but you can reduce it less if you want more sauce. You can thicken the sauce with cornstarch mixed with water.
• Serve with white rice or other grain of choice.

RAS AL-HANOUT SPICED CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• To make ras al-hanout: In a small bowl combine the cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, nutmeg, cardamom and cloves. To make chicken: Thoroughly pat the chicken dry with paper towels and dredge the chicken in the ras al-hanout spices so the pieces are completely covered. Place in a bowl or baking dish and scatter thyme and garlic over the chicken. Pour olive oil over everything, toss to coat, cover with plastic wrap and let sit in the refrigerator overnight. Remove marinated chicken from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking. Take the chicken out of the marinade; set remaining marinade aside. Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat; add chicken and cook until brown on all sides. Remove the chicken from the Dutch oven; set aside. Add the onion to the Dutch oven and cook until translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Place the chicken in the tagine or return to the Dutch oven, add the onions and lemon, along with the reserved marinade. Sprinkle generously with salt. Add enough broth to almost cover the chicken, bring to a simmer, cover and cook until the chicken has begun to pull away from the bones and the meat is quite tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove chicken, lemons and onions from the broth and keep warm. Skim any fat from the surface of the broth, bring to a rolling boil and boil until the sauce is reduced to about 2 cups, 6 to 8 minutes. Season the chicken to taste with salt return to the broth along with the lemons and onions. Serve with Saffron Couscous and Chocolate Harissa (see accompanying recipes).

EASY CROCK POT MOROCCAN CHICKEN, CHICKPEA AND APRICOT TAGINE

Steps:

• PLEASE NOTE: This recipe lists canned chickpeas in the ingredients, NOT dried! If you use dried chickpeas, you MUST soak them and cook them first!
• Heat up olive oil in a frying pan/skillet & saute chopped onions & garlic for 5-10 minutes.
• Add chicken stock & gradually mix in flour or cornflour until well mixed & not lumpy.Add honey & tomato paste & mix well.
• Add herbs,spices & finely chopped ginger with salt & pepper to taste.
• Finally add tinned tomatoes & mix well.
• Pour the above tomato,onion & spice mix into slow cooker or tagine.
• Add chicken & chickpeas & mix well.
• Add dried apricots making sure they are covered by juice. (Add the carrots if using.).
• Give it a gentle but good stir to mix everything together well.
• Crock Pot or Slow Cooker - Cook on high for about 3 to 4 hours OR automatic with keep warm facility for up to 8 hours. (Please note that the cooking times depend on your crockpot, the cooking times I have suggested work fine with mine which is a Morphy Richards Slow Cooker.).
• If cooking in a Traditional Tagine, do as above & cook SLOWLY over gas or barbeque for about 2-3 hours.
• Electric Tagine cooking - same as the slowcooker. If you need to thicken it up towards the end of the cooking time, add cornflour which has been mixed with a little water & add to the tagine - mix well.
• Serve with freshly chopped Coriander/Cilantro sprinked on top & either with couscous, rice, fresh flat bread, pitta bread or salads. It is also good (if not traditional) served with fluffy pureed or mashed potatoes & pasta.
• Note: You can use chicken pieces or whole chicken which has been cut up into portions, but you will then need to brown them in a frying pan or skillet beforehand. Preserved lemons make a great addition, add them when you add the apricots and carrots.