We love Tagines. This one from Daniel Boulud Chicken Tagine is a winner. Any dish with olives is an added bonus. We served the Tagine over Cous-Cous. We started with a Date and Parmesan Salad. I have switched to using Maldon Salt in salads, I think it adds an intensity that brings out the best flavors.
Daniel Boulud’s
Chicken Tagine
New York Times
This recipe for an elegant North African stew comes out of
the kitchen of Boulud Sud, Daniel Boulud’s sophisticated Mediterranean French
restaurant in New York. It is a dish steeped in the flavors of North Africa,
but also of France. Chicken serves as the protein, bathed in a blend of North
African spices — cinnamon and coriander, turmeric, ginger powder and cardamom —
combined with tomatoes, saffron and a little stock. Preserved lemons and olives
added at the end provide bite. Tagines are often cooked with root vegetables
and dried fruits. Boulud, who famously grew up on a farm, in Lyon, uses
cauliflower. ‘‘It is maybe a little more French approach to the tagine,’’ he
said. Blanching the cauliflower and tomatoes before cooking them may cause some
cooks to blanch themselves. But the effort is worth it.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE SPICE MIX
3 ½ tablespoons
sweet paprika
1 teaspoon
garlic powder
2 teaspoons
cinnamon
3 tablespoons
ground coriander
1 tablespoon
plus 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon
ginger powder
½ tablespoon
ground cardamom
2 ½ teaspoons
ground allspice
FOR THE TAGINE
8 chicken
thighs, approximately 3 pounds
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 tablespoons
spice mix
⅓ cup
extra-virgin olive oil
3 Roma
tomatoes
1 head
cauliflower, cut into bite-size florets
1 large
white onion, diced
3 cloves
garlic, diced
1 tablespoon
grated fresh ginger
1 pinch
saffron
1 tablespoon
tomato paste
2 cups
chicken stock, homemade or low-sodium
3 tablespoons
preserved lemons, approximately 2 lemons, roughly chopped
1 cup
green olives, like Castelvetranos
½ bunch
cilantro, leaves picked and stems discarded.
PREPARATION
1.
Combine the spices in a dry sauté pan set over
low heat, and toast them gently until they release their fragrance, 2 minutes
or so. Transfer to a bowl, and allow to cool.
2.
Preheat oven to 350. Season the chicken thighs
with the salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons of the spice mix, along with 2
tablespoons of the olive oil.
3.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over
high heat, and set a large bowl of ice water to the side. Core the tomatoes,
and score an X on their bottoms. Boil the cauliflower florets in the water for
3 minutes, then submerge them in the ice water. Boil the tomatoes for 20
seconds, and chill them in the ice water as well. Remove the cauliflower when
it is cold, and pat the florets dry. Peel the skin off the tomatoes, then cut
them into quarters lengthwise. Trim away the seeds to make petals.
4.
Heat the remaining olive oil in a large sauté
pan set over medium heat, and sear the chicken in batches, starting skin-side
down, until the thighs are browned. Remove the chicken to a large Dutch oven or
tagine pot. Remove all but two tablespoons of the fat in pan, then return it to
the heat, and brown the cauliflower and add to the chicken.
5.
Reduce heat below the pan, and add the onion,
garlic, ginger and saffron. Cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent,
approximately 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and chicken stock, and simmer until
reduced by 1/3.
6.
Pour sauce over the chicken and cauliflower,
cover the pot and transfer to oven for 20 minutes. Remove, stir in the
tomatoes, preserved lemon and olives, then cover the pot again and cook for an
additional 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Serve the chicken
in the pot, garnished with the cilantro leaves, with couscous. Reserve
remaining spice mix for the next batch or another use. It keeps well in a
sealed container.
