Recipes from Andalucia

By Nick Nutter

Chicken Tagine

With its strong ties to the Arab world, it is not surprising that much of the food you will find in Andalucia has a Moroccan influence. Here is a classic tajine that will transport you across the Gibraltar Strait.

Preparation Time: 10 mins Cooking Time: 60 mins Total Time: 70 mins
Serves: 4 Difficulty: Moderate Suitable for: Meat and Fish eaters

Ingredients

• 2 large chicken breasts, skin on
• 4 chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g shallots, peeled or 4 small onions quartered
• 2 garlic cloves, sliced
• 4cm piece ginger, grated
• 1 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
• 2 small cinnamon sticks
• large pinch saffron threads
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• pinch crushed dried chilli
• 375g peeled carrots, cut into chunks
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 rounded tbsp clear honey
• 2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander

Method

1. Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4.
2. Cut each chicken breast in half, then season all the chicken.
3. Heat the oil in a medium size ovenproof casserole dish. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and brown well all over – you can do it in batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.
4. Lower heat slightly, add the shallots to the pan and cook until golden brown all over. Add the garlic and grated ginger and cook for 30 secs before adding all the spices and cooking for 1 min more.
5. Transfer to a tagine if you have one.
6. Throw the carrots into the tajine or pan and stir to coat in the spices. Arrange the chicken, skin side uppermost, on top of the shallots and squash.
7. Pour over the stock and drizzle in the honey.
8. Transfer to the oven to bake for 40 mins until tender.
9. Scatter with the coriander and serve with couscous and a bowl of harissa, if you like.