Chicken Tajine

This recipe is a delicious meal all by itself and it’s made in one pot, there is less cleaning and it’s an easier dinner to prepare. What could be more satisfying than the delicious aromas of healthy cooking wafting through the kitchen, especially when it’s all done with little effort? There are many versions of this dish; last eve some Moroccan friends, visiting from Israel, came over and this is the variation I made.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil.
• 1 onion, cut into small wedges
• 4 garlic cloves, sliced
• 1 lb chicken cutlets
• 1 tsp cumin
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tbsp whole wheat flour
• 8 oz zucchini, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded, chopped
• 3 oz portobello mushrooms, chopped
• 2 tbsp tomato sauce
• 2 1/2 cups chicken broth (see CS’ Chicken Broth)
• 10 oz chickpeas
• 1/3 cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1/3 cup prunes, chopped
• 1/2 cup dates, sliced
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat, add the onion and garlic and cook for three minutes, stir frequently.
2. Add the chicken and cook, stirring constantly, for an additional 5 minutes. until all sides are seared.
3. Add the cumin and the cinnamon sticks after the first 2 1/2 minutes.
4. Sprinkle in the flour, stir constantly, for another 2 minutes.
5. Add the zucchini, the bell peeper and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly.
6. Blend the tomato paste with the chicken broth, stir into pan, bring to a boil.
7. Reduce heat and add the chickpeas, apricots, prunes, and dates. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until chicken is tender.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
9. Garnish  with chopped cilantro or parsley (I used cilantro) and serve immediately.

We paired it with with a Willm Gewurztraminer 2008. With fresh flowers and citrus on the nose, flavors of pineapple, honeydew, lychee and apple with lots of honey on the finish. This is a dry white but with a subtle hint of sweetness on the tongue, elegant rather than big and bold,  it is clean, refreshing and with just enough acidity to accentuate the sweetness of the dish. A marriage made in heaven!

Enjoy, gentle reader, enjoy! We did.

CS