Tagine sauce – Add the chickpeas, apricot, tomato, preserved lemon, stock and cinnamon stick. Stir, then bring it to a simmer. Top with chicken – Just place the chicken on top, skin side up.
While you can use a whole cut-up chicken for chicken tagine, my preference is to use bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs only. They provide a good amount of meat and remain tender even if slightly overcooked, and the bones and skin add depth of flavor and richness to the sauce (though the skin is removed midway through cooking).
Nuts – Slivered almonds, lightly toasted until golden in a dry skillet, go really nicely in tagines. 9. Couscous – I use this recipe of mine. Also terrific with rice. 10. Chickpeas – Sub with any canned beans. Dried chickpeas – You will need 1/2 cup of dried chickpeas, cooked as per Note 1 in this recipe. 11.
The spice mix used in this Morrocan chicken tagine is Ras el hanout, a spice blend common in North Africa used in many dishes. While you can buy pre-made blends, the balance of flavours can be unpredictable from brand to brand. It’s so much better to make your own for a consistent outcome – and it’s cheaper too!