Spiced Chicken Tajine with Olives Moroccan style
I was a tad lazy this afternoon, not sure what to cook for dinner. Today, like the Wednesday before, I have an evening class which lasts until about half past eight. We don’t get to eat until about 9pm, which is really not a good idea at all to have a late large meal especially before bedtime ! I only have two pieces of chicken breasts in the freezer. I was contemplating between congee (porridge asian style) or schnitzel or… ? Hanging around bored at home, I thought the better of difficult dishes.. since I just purchased a beautiful tajine, why not make use of it ??! Brilliant idea. Here’s what I put together for dinner tonight.
The beauty with a tajine is that you can let the food stew inside slowly. The swirling steam will cook the meat until it is tender and falling off the bone. It is basically like a slow cooker. Put everything inside piled on top of each other and heat over low flame for about 4 hours. Do not use high heat. If you bought a modern tajine like mine which can be used over the stove (mine is a microstoven tajine) and in the oven, and does not need prior “seasoning” (clay based tajines do) because it is already glazed, you need not have to worry about once you have set everything in order on low heat. Some people say clay based tajines are better because of the flavour stored within the clay walls over time, makes the food taste better. I cannot attest to that as I have never had a clay tajine before. If you do want to buy a tajine, make sure you buy a cooking tajine and not the decorative ones used for serving.
I have always held a passion for Moroccan food and their tajines. I don’t know why. I have yet to visit Morocco. I have been to a Moroccan restaurant once. I love their food. For some reason it possesses a secret exotic appeal tucked somewhere in my subconscious gastromania. Without further introduction, here is what I put together this afternoon for dinner:-
2 pieces of chicken breast chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 onion finely chopped
6 cloves of garlic
2 carrots roughly chopped
Handful of long beans chopped to desirable length (optional)
1 tomato roughly chopped into quarters (add 2-3 more if you like)
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp sumac
1 tsp turmeric (optional)
Dash of garlic powder (optional)
1/4 lemon juice
1/2 cup chicken stock
Handful of pitted olives
My chicken tajine experiment
First season the chicken pieces with the ground ginger, cumin, garlic powder, dash of salt, turmeric and sumac. Best to leave overnight if planning ahead but if like me, it is a last-minute decision.. go for it !! Next, add olive oil to the tajine and toast the onions and garlic. Add the chicken pieces to brown. If the chicken starts drying up, squeeze the lemon juice over the chicken. I then piled the carrots, long beans and tomatoes on top. Add the chicken stock until it barely covers the chicken pieces. A dash of salt and pepper. Cover the lid.. and leave it to stew on low heat for about 1 – 2 hours.
After it is done, I plan to pit the olives (i.e. take the seeds out if you bought whole olives) and add them in for a reheat just before serving dinner. Serve chicken tajine my Moroccan style over a plate of coconut rice!
I have to warn you… it smells spicy ! If that is not your style, tone down on the spices. How did it taste? Let you know once we’ve had dinner tonight ! So stay tuned…
Chicken served on a plate of coconut rice
And the result is… “delicious!”
It did not turn out as spicy as I thought it would. So the spices proportions are probably about right. Feel free to experiment ! That is the most rewarding experience of all.
🙂 Till next time… good night !
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