Chicken Tagine

Hi there!
While learning how to cook, I like to experiment with different cuisines every now and then. It started with Italian food: I love a good pasta or lasagne! This Christmas I received a tagine as gift and I could not have been happier! I have been experimenting a bit, and decided to share my last creation with you.

Cooking with a tagine is actually really easy. You need some meat, vegetables combined with many herbs, and some liquid like bouillon. The shape of the tagine ensures all the flavours are combined and kept within the bowl. As a result, you have stew-like substance that is extremely tasty, and contains very juicy meat!

I cooked this recipe for 2 persons, but it could have easily fed 3-4 people. 

What I used: 

- Chicken wings, 4 pieces 

- Onion, 1 large
- Garlic, 2 cloves
- Chicken stock, 300ml
- Eggplant, 1 piece
- Zucchini, 1 piece
- Tomato, 1 piece
- Dried apricots, a handful
- Couscous, 150g
- Ginger, the size of a thumb
- Salt and pepper
- Chicken seasoning (optional) 
- Turmeric
- Fresh herbs, a handful (I used celery leaves, chives and parsley) 

What I did: 

• First, slowly heat up the tagine. You don't want to break the bowl because of the heat! Season the chicken.
• When it's nice and hot, add some oil and bake the chicken wings on both sides. 
• Cut the onion into slices and finely chop up the garlic and add this to the tagine. Let it simmer for a few minutes, then add the chicken stock. Always close the lid after adding new ingredients, or the flavours/stock will evaporate!
• Finely chop up the ginger. Dice the eggplant, zucchini, dried apricots and tomato and add them to the mixture after about 20 minutes of simmering.
• Add the turmeric and some salt and pepper. I used quite a lot of turmeric, around 2 spoonfuls. Be careful: it leaves behind a yellow colour!
• Chop up the fresh herbs and place this on top of the mixture. Carefully stir the mixture once. 
• I let it simmer for around half an hour after adding all the flavours. Meanwhile, heat up some water and add this to the couscous. Place a lid on the bowl and wait until it is finished. 
• When all of this is done, make sure your dish is tasteful and you're ready to serve! 

For me this is a great way to eat some extra veggies. There are so many variations to try, just be creative and daring ;) The key is to mix salty ingredients with something sweet, like dried apricots or raisins, and to add a lot of herbs. Can't go wrong!

I hope you enjoyed this recipe, I'll see you next time!
Vivian 

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