Quick Tagine-Style Chicken

By Foodiewife

I have been making this Quick Tagine Style Chicken for years. The blend of spices is what gives this dish an aromatic Moroccan flavor-- cinnamon, paprika, cumin, coriander, tumeric. Best of all, this meal can be on the table in about 30 minutes (yep, it's a Rachael Ray recipe).

I've tweaked just a few things to make this dish a family favorite. You can easily substitute tofu or lamb and it would really delicious.

Ingredients

• SPICE BLEND:
• 2tablespoons2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan
• 4cloves4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 1/2teaspoons1 1/2 teaspoons grill seasoning blend (recommended: Montreal Seasoning by McCormick) or coarse salt and coarse pepper
• 22 medium, or 1 large yellow skinned onion, quartered and sliced
• 4 to 64 to 6 pitted prunes, coarsely chopped
• 8 to108 to10 dried apricots
• 1cup1 cup cup golden raisins
• 2cups2 cups good quality, low sodium chicken stock
• 1 1/2teaspoons1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 1/2teaspoons1 1/2 teaspoons sweet paprika
• 1/2teaspoon1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2teaspoon1/2 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/8teaspoon1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, a couple pinches
• NOTE: This blend is so good, I recommend tripling it to store as extra seasoning.

Details

Servings 6
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 40mins
Adapted from foodiewife-kitchen.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Make the spice blend first, so you have it ready.

Season the chicken with Montreal seasoning blend.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add extra-virgin olive oil, 2 turns of the pan, in a slow stream, and add the garlic. Scatter chicken around the pan in an even layer.

Cook chicken pieces 2 minutes on each side to brown, then add the onions, prunes, apricots, raisins.

Add the spice blend to the pan and stir. Add the stock.

Cover and reduce to moderate heat. Cook 7 or 8 minutes, remove the lid and stir.

Uncover chicken and cook another 2 to 3 minutes to thicken slightly**.

**NOTE: I have never gotten the sauce to thicken enough to suit my preference. I make a slurry of about 1/4 cup water and 1 tablespoon of corn starch, whisked to have no lumps.

On a moderate heat, I add about 1 tablespoon at a time of the slurry until it thickens to our liking.

Adjust the seasoning, to taste, and serve chicken on a bed of couscous or rice cooked in chicken stock.

Garnish with chopped cilantro and scallions.

OPTIONAL:
Serve with chutney.