Chicken tagine with couscous

What do to with the tagine I bought at Sur La Table that’s been sitting in my cabinet for way too long? Make the eponymous dish of course. What I love most about tagines is that you can easily get creative making them. For example, I hate raisins, and though a lot of tagine recipes call for them, I never include them. (But you can add 1/4 cup if you like.) Also, I used pistachios instead of the usual almonds found in many tagine dishes. It’s my personal preference. So get whatever protein you like, what ingredients you love and what spices you fancy—and get creative at dinnertime.

Moroccan chicken tagine with couscous

Ingredients
1/2 cup chopped pistachios (2 oz.)
2 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. chicken breast, cut into medium-sized pieces
1 large Vidalia or other sweet onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbs. honey
Juice and grated peel of 1 lemon

Couscous ingredients
1/4 cups chicken broth
1 1/4 cups uncooked couscous
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1/4 cup chopped dried apricots
3 Tbs. minced fresh parsley
3 Tbs. minced fresh mint
Juice and grated peel of 1 lemon

Make chicken
In small dry skillet, cook pistachios over medium heat until fragrant, shaking pan occasionally, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove to a plate and set aside.

In large skillet, heat 1-tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and stir-fry until lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Remove to another plate.

In same large skillet, heat remaining 1-tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and stir-fry 5 minutes. Add ginger, cinnamon, cumin and paprika and stir-fry 1 minute. Return chicken to skillet. Stir in broth, honey and lemon juice and peel and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium, cover and simmer until chicken has absorbed flavors, about 15 minutes.

Remove chicken and place on plate; cover with foil to keep warm. Add pistachios almonds to liquid remaining in skillet and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until liquid is slightly syrupy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste. Set aside.

Make couscous
In medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil over high heat. Stir in couscous, cranberries and apricots, cover and remove from heat. Let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff couscous mixture with a fork, stirring in parsley, mint and lemon juice and peel. Season with salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste. Serve and drizzle with honey-almond sauce and serve at once.

Visit Sur La Table to purchase a tagine.

Or visit:
Sur La Table/75 Spring St at Crosby/212-966-3375

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