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Tagine

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Preparation information

  • About 30 minutes to prepare
  • From 12h to 24h to rest (Chicked)
  • About 2h to cook

Ingredients

  • Spice rub:
  • sea salt or himalayan crystal salt
  • Ground black pepper
  • 1 level tablespoon ras el hanout spice mix (Moroccan spices mix)
  • 1 level tablespoon ground cumin
  • 1 level tablespoon cumin seeds
  • 1 level tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 level tablespoon ground ginger or 1 level tablespoon ginger paste
  • 1 level tablespoon sweet paprika (or mild paprika)
  • Main ingredients:
  • 600 g quality stewing beef or 4/6 chicken drumstick
  • Olive oil
  • 1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
  • 1 small bunch of fresh coriander
  • 400g tinned chickpeas, drained. Or 1 glass of dried chickpeas.
  • 600g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 400 ml organic vegetable stock, or chicken stock, or 2~3 Kub'or
  • 2 or 3 small squash, approximately 800g, de-seeded and cut into 5cm chunks.
  • 3 to 5 semi-dry prunes, stoned and roughly torn or 3 to 5 semi-dry figs
  • ½ garlic clove finely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons flaked almonds, toasted
  • Couscous semolina
  • handful of sultanas or 5 semi dry plums

Preparation

Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put the meat into a large bowl, massage it with the spice rub, then cover with cling film and put into the fridge for a couple of hours -- ideally overnight or a full day - that way the spices really penetrate and flavour the meat. If using chicken drumsticks, debone the meat, put the rub under the skin gently. Make sure not to tear the meat apart.

If using dried chickpeas, disolve 1 Kub'Or in a bowl in a bit of hot water. Add the dried chickpeas and cover with hot water 1cm above the chickpeas. Let rehydrate for 4 to 6 hours but don't add any extra water. Stir every hour or so.

Cooking

Pre-heat your oven at 150C.

When the meat is ready to cook, finely chop the onions. Separate the coriander leaves from stalks and chop the stalks (~1cm). Wash the squash and cut in chunks of 1 to 2 cm. Drain and rinse the chickpeas. If you don't have the stock available, boil some water and pour 400ml (total) over 2 KubOr to disolve, and include the water from the dried chickpeas.

Heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine pot or casserole. Fry the meat over a medium heat for 5 minutes. Add your chopped onion and coriander stalks and fry for another 5 minutes. Tip in the chickpeas, squash and tomatoes, then pour in 400ml of stock and stir. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on. If cooking with a tagine pot, put it in the oven for 1½ hours at ~125°C.

At this point, add the prunes and/or figs and the rest of the stock. Add the garlic. Give everything a gentle stir, then pop the lid back on the pan and continue cooking for another 1½ hours. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks too dry.

Once the time is up, take the lid off and check the consistency. If it seems a bit too runny, simmer for 5 to 10 minutes or until desired consistency is achieved. Add the flaked almonds.

Boil some water (1.5L is plenty). In a large bowl, put couscous. Pour the boiling water until it's 1cm above the couscous. Put a lid on and wait about 5 minutes until the cousous is cooked. Add the drained sultanas and a generous piece of butter to stop the couscous from absorbing the water.

The meat should be really tender and falling apart now, so have a taste and season with a pinch or two of salt. Scatter the coriander leaves over the tagine, then take it straight to the table with a big bowl of lightly seasoned couscous and dive in.

Notes

Ras el hanout (Moroccan spices mix) can be purchase in many locations such as local markets and fine food shops. Ingredients and prices will vary greatly. Mixing multiple brands/sources of this spice mix will give better flavours overall.

Using dried chickpeas gives a nicer texture to the final dish. If you use dried chickpeas, you can either soak them overnight in clear water or soak them in the chicken flavoured stock.

The chicken stock may add too much water to the dish, so be gentle on it, especially because tin tomatoes already come with a lot of water.

The garlic and onion are optional but adds a nice flavour to the dish.