Chicken Tagine with Dried Plums

Ingredients:

• 1 pound diced chicken (or lamb), trimmed of most of its fat
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
• 4 teaspoon La Kama Tagine spice
• 1 pinch saffron
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 preserved lemon
• 12 dried plums (you could also use apricots or 3/4 Cup of raisins)
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 tablespoons culinary argan oil
• 1/4 cup whole blanched almonds, lightly toasted for serving
• chopped coriander, for serving

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 300F. Place meat in a tagine. (You may wish to brown it in argan oil in a skillet first and transfer the browned meat to the tagine.) Add the rest of the ingredients and put on the lid. Place tagine on the lowest rung in the oven for
2 1/2 to 3 hours.  Enjoy!

Chicken and pumpkin Tagine

This delicious Tagine dish serves 4 people and can be made in a medium sized Tagine.
Ingredients:

• 8 chicken thighs 
• 1⁄2 kg pumpkin 
• 1 onion 
• 6 tablespoons culinary argan oil, 
• 1 tablespoon extravirgin olive oil 
• 2 pinches saffron pistils, 
• 1 pinch mace and salt

Preparation and cooking time: 1⁄2 hour
Finely slice the onion and brown with the chicken thighs in extravirgin olive oil for 10 minutes on a low flame. Put the spices in a glass of water and use to moisten the chicken. After boiling five minutes add the pumpkin diced in mediumlarge pieces. Cover and finish cooking. Season with the argan oil and serve immediately.


Note:
Mace is a spice from the same plant (Myristica fragrans, originally from the Molucca Islands) which provides nutmeg: this is the seed while mace is obtained from the surrounding reddish husk. It is used for savory dishes, in liqueurs and for preparing mixtures of spices, including curry.

Tagine of Lamb and Olives with Argan oil

This Moroccan tagine recipe calls for argan oil, a light, nutty oil which is exclusive to Morocco. While the argan oil imparts a unique flavor, olive oil or walnut oil can also be used. Beef or goat meat may be substituted for the lamb. Tagine of Lamb and Olives is best prepared in a traditional Moroccan tagine (use a diffuser if cooking stovetop), but good results can be achieved by slow-cooking in a heavy-bottomed pot. Avoid high heat when cooking with argan or walnut oil. Scoop up the tagine with Moroccan bread, and try serving it with Belgian French Fries heaped on top.


Serves four persons.

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs. (about 1 kg) lamb, cut into 2" to 3" pieces
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 medium onion, chopped medium
1 tablespoon ginger
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
1/3 cup argan oil
small hanful of cilantro sprigs, tied together
1/2 cup green olives with pits
1 cup water
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 210 minutes
Total Time: 220 minutes

PREPARATION

Layer the sliced onions on the bottom of a tagine. In a bowl, mix the meat with the chopped onion and spices, and add the mixture to the tagine along with the water, argan oil and olives. Place the cilantro bouquet on top of the meat.

Cover the tagine, and place it on a diffuser over medium-low heat. It will take some time for the tagine to reach a simmer, but once it does, leave the tagine undisturbed for about three hours, using the lowest heat necessary to maintain the simmer.

There's no need to open the tagine unless you smell something burning. In that case, the heat was likely too high and a little water will need to be added to prevent scorching.
After the tagine has cooked for three hours, check on the meat. It should be very tender and easy to break apart with your fingers. If necessary, cook longer. When the meat is tender, reduce any excess liquid, and serve.

It's Moroccan tradition to serve the dish directly from the tagine in which it was cooked. It's best scooped up with crusty bread, with each person eating from his own side of the dish.

By Christine Benlafquih
Moroccan Food Expert