Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

I always have a love hate relationship with Moroccan food. Maybe it's my cooking technique or maybe the recipe itself, I actually don't have a clue. It just doesn't sit well for me. Mister V. Thinks the same.

BUT i think I have found what I am looking for to change the way I think about it. I got this recipe from Around my French table by Dorie Greenspan. I'd like to think that this is a fusion of French and Moroccan.. and a little bit of Asian perhaps? I'm no expert. I just really like to cook and eat.

For this recipe, I don't have a tagine so I use Dutch oven which works really well. I think that is one reason why my Moroccan recipes before is not quite as expected because I just use ordinary pot. With the Dutch oven, the heat is even and it just seals all the flavor and let the chicken braise in its own juice.

What can I say, this recipe is another foodgasmic food. I cannot help but rave about it. The chicken is so moist and juicy. The jus is really flavorful, sweet and savory at the same time. I pair mine with couscous but of course you can have it with rice or on its own.

Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes

From Around my French Table by Dorie Greenspan

1/4 cup olive oil

2 large white onions, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced

1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp water

salt

4 pounds chicken cut into 8 pieces

Freshly ground pepper

*2 large pinches of saffron threads

1/8 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

1 star anise

1 bay leaf

2 tbsp honey

1 cup chicken broth

12 pitted prunes

1 pound sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch cube

Toasted chopped walnut, for serving (optional)

Pour 2 tablespoons of the oil into a large tagine or a Dutch oven and warm over low heat. Add the onions, stirring to coat them with oil, then mix in 1 tablespoon of the water, season with salt, and cover the pot. Cook the onions gently for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they are very soft but not colored.

Meanwhile, brown the chicken: Heat a tablespoon or two of oil in a large skillet, preferably nonstick, over medium heat. Slip the chicken into the pan, skin side down (don’t crowd the pan — if it isn’t large enough to hold the pieces comfortably, work in batches) and cook the chicken for about 4 minutes on a side, or until it is golden. Transfer the chicken to a plate and season with salt and pepper.

When the onions are softened, add the saffron, crushing it between your fingers as you sprinkle it in, the rest of the spices, the bay leaf, honey, broth, and the remaining ½ cup water and stir to blend. Scatter the prunes over the mixture, then top with the chicken pieces, skin side up. Strew the potato cubes over the chicken and bring the liquid to a boil. Adjust the heat so that the broth simmers gently but steadily, cover, and cook for about 45 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the potatoes are tender. Wait until you hit the 45-minute mark before lifting the lid — the tagine should bubble away undisturbed.

Taste the pan juices, and if you’d like to concentrate the flavors, remove the chicken and vegetables to a serving bowl, cover, and keep warm. Boil the liquid for a few minutes, keeping in mind that this is really a jus, not a sauce, and it’s meant to be thin. If you removed the chicken and accompaniments, pour the jus over them; if everything is still in the tagine or casserole, you can leave them there for serving.

In either case, taste for salt and pepper, scatter over the cracked walnuts, if you’re using them, and serve.

Note: 

*I use pinch of turmeric instead of saffron threads