Simple Spiced Chicken Tagine

This is a great, hearty winter warmer - rich and aromatic, delicately spiced and full of flavour but a sweetness running through from the apricots, honey and cinnamon that makes it suitable for all the family to enjoy.

I've used chicken here, but it's easily adaptable to the meat of your choice, and likewise you could try different dried fruits and vegetables or beans too. Also if you don’t own a tagine a casserole dish will work well enough.

I use chicken thighs and brown the meat off first as I don’t like the texture of the skin if you don’t do this simple step first, but you could use any part of the chicken too if you prefer boneless, breast meat for example.

We had this as it came, but you could serve with rice, couscous and salad leaves. The below serves 3-4.

Simple Spiced Chicken Tagine 

Here’s how;

• 6-8 chicken thighs 
• 1 onions 
• 2 large cloves garlic 
• 2 carrots 
• 1 can chickpeas, drained 
• 3cm piece of ginger 
• 2 tsp cumin seeds 
• 2 tsp cinnamon 
• 1 tsp turmeric 
• 2tbsp honey 
• 100g dried apricots 
• Sea salt 
• Black pepper 
• Water to cover 
• Drizzle olive oil 
• Handful parsley and coriander leaves, roughly chopped 

Firstly drizzle the olive oil into a pan and place on a medium heat. Pre-heat the oven to 170 degrees.

Season the chicken pieces generously with the sea salt and black pepper.

Now place each chicken piece, skin side down, into the now hot pan and allow to sear for a few minutes or until the skin is nicely golden. Turn over and cook for a few minutes.

In the meantine prepare the vegetables for the tagine. Roughly chop the onion and slice the garlic and add to the tagine.

Peel the carrots and cut into rectangular slices and add to the dish.

Peel the ginger and either slice or grate straight into the tagine.

Half the dried apricots and place into the dish.

Add the chicken and the chickpeas now too.

Now add the cumin seeds, turmeric, cinnamon and honey and stir well.

Pour over cold water until everything is just covered, return the lid to the tagine and place into the oven to cook for 1.5 hours. You can cook it faster at a higher temperature, but low and slow yields fall-off the bone meat.

Remove from the oven after about half of the cooking time to stir then return to the oven.

Remove from the oven and serve with the handful each of coriander and parsley on top.

Simple Spiced Chicken Tagine 

Serve with your choice of accompaniments.

Chicken and Apricot Tagine

I have been cooking tagines of different variations for a few years now and each time yields a different result, but the version below has been our favourite to date. It's a rich, aromatic Middle Eastern flavour with a slight kick of heat, but mild enough for our nearly two-year-old, Bridget to enjoy too, so a great Baby Bites, family meal idea.

The great thing with a tagine is that you can adapt it according to what you have to hand, but I almost insist you include the dried apricots here, they absorb the moisture and puff up into such a delicious little morsel and with the drizzle of honey bring a lovely sweetness to the dish which helps to balance the flavours.

I serve with jewelled couscous (made with peppers, spring onions, pomegranate seeds and coriander) but you could serve with rice or with warm, fresh bread if you prefer.

Chicken and apricot tagine

Here's how:

• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• Big piece ginger
• 8 chicken thighs
• 1 tbsp ras el hanout
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp dried coriander
• 2 carrots
• 100g dried apricots
• 2 tomatoes
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1.5 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp white pepper
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• Garnish:
• Handful coriander leaves
• Handful flaked almonds

Firstly add the olive oil to a non-stick pan and place on a low heat. Pre-heat the oven to 180 and rearrange the shelves so your tagine fits in before the oven gets hot. If you don't own an actual tagine, use a casserole dish with a lid.

Now take the chicken thighs and scatter over half the ras el hanout on the skin side, then add to the pan, skin-side-down and sear for four or five minutes. Pop the rest of the ras el hanout over the other side of the thighs and when the skin side is nicely browned, turn over and cook for the same amount of time or until no pink exterior remains, remove from the pan and add to the tagine base.

Now peel and slice an onion and mince the garlic and add to the tagine. Peel the ginger and either slice or grate into the tagine.

Take two tomatoes and dice then peel the carrots and chop them into batons and add to the dish.

Now add the remaining spices and seasonings, the apricots, honey and chicken stock and give a good stir. Replace the lid and cook for 40 minutes.

In the meantime prepare your accompaniments ready to dish up. Serve with a flourish of fresh coriander leaves and once on the plate scatter with flaked almonds. Delicious!

Tip: if serving to toddlers or small children as I do, I go for a 'de-constructed' version when dishing up. I de-skin the chicken and cut into bite-sized chunks, not because my daughter is unable, but the tagine keeps the heat incredibly high and this is a good way of cooling the meat a little so she doesn't burn her little mouth.

More tagine recipes from me:

Quick & Chunky Cod Tagine

Chicken & Chickpea Tagine 

Quick and Chunky Cod Tagine

Here is a lovely fish tagine recipe that uses aromatic spices and cod for a robust, delicious and delicately spiced stew perfect for cold winter nights. Serve with mixed lentils as I have here, or if unlike myself, you’re not avoiding complex carbohydrates, then serve with some rice or couscous as you might expect it to be served in North Africa where this dish originates.

Using a combination of both smoked and unsmoked cod, adds a delicious flavour layer here and you could of course use another white fish, such as coley, hake, monkfish or river cobbler if you prefer – I just prefer the way cod keeps its’ shape in the tagine.

This makes enough for two adults and one child’s portion.

Chunky Cod Tagine

Here's how:

• 100g unsmoked cod
• 100g smoked cod
• 100g black olives (preferably not pitted)
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 courgette
• 3 tomatoes
• 2 thumbnail piece of fresh ginger
• Pinch saffron
• 1 red chilli
• 1 white onion
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 preserved lemons
• Splash white wine (sherry or brandy will suffice is no wine is open as you literally need a spoonful)
• 1 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp cloves
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1.5 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml fish stock
• Handful coriander
• Handful parsley

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees and arrange the shelves so your tagine dish will easily fit in.

First things first in the tagine (or casserole dish) add the olive oil and all of the spices, cloves etc. and mix to a paste with a wooden spoon.

Peel the ginger and garlic and finely slice and add to the tagine. Dice the courgette and tomatoes and halve the preserved lemons and add to the dish. Pour over the wine (or sherry or brandy) and add the olives and cinnamon stick.Finely slice the chilli and add to the dish.

Now roughly chop the fish into about six pieces per fillet or bite-sized and add to the tagine then pour over the fish stock. Give a stir, place the lid on top and place into the oven.

Cook for 35 minutes, then remove from the oven and add the parsley and coriander just broken up with your hands and stir.

Serve with your choice of lentils, chickpeas, rice or couscous. Enjoy!

Chunky Cod Tagine

Chicken and Chickpea Tagine

This chicken tagine serves four and is essentially a pimped up chicken stew with an exotic North African makeover. The herbs and spices used make for a fragrant, almost aromatic dish and it tastes great served with rice, cous cous or fresh bread to soak up all of the juices. 

Here's how:

Handful of shallots

3 cloves garlic

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp coriander seeds

8 Chicken thighs

Jar or tin of olives

Tin of chickpeas

2 lemons

Pinch of saffron threads

Handful of cherry tomatoes

1 pint Chicken stock

4 tbsp olive oil

1 cinnamon stick

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp honey

Bunch fresh parsley

Bunch fresh coriander

Coarse sea salt

Fresh ground black pepper 

Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the tagine and place on the hob on a low heat and turn the oven onto a moderate-hot heat (180-200⁰C).

Peel and crush the garlic and grate the ginger and add to the tagine with the cumin and coriander seeds and just soften then remove from the heat.

In a separate pan, add a smidge of olive oil and brown off the chicken thighs. Whilst chicken is browning add to the tagine the drained chickpeas, whole, peeled shallots, halved cherry tomatoes and whole olives.

Cut the lemons into quarters and add to the tagine.

Once chicken is browned, add to the tagine and pour over the stock, seasoning, bay leaf, cinnamon stick, honey and remaining olive oil.

Steep the saffron in a couple of tablespoons of hot water then also pour into the tagine.

Add some chopped parsley and coriander, but retain most for garnish and to stir through at the end. Give the tagine a good stir, add the lid and place into the oven for 45 minutes.

Check the tagine after about 30 minutes and stir through and add a little more stock if needed.

After 45 minutes, remove from the oven and check that the chicken is tender – it should be! If not, return to the oven for a further 15 minutes then check again and repeat as necessary – the chicken should easily fall off of the bone. 

Before dishing up stir through some chopped coriander and parsley and then garnish each plate with some whole leaves.