Recipe: Chicken Tagine with Lemon & Honey

 

Last summer I picked up an Emile Henry Tagine {it was brand new and came in the original box} for the unbelievable price of $10 at my neighbors garage sale.  This baby retails for around $120 and I knew I was getting a killer deal when I bought it.

For some reason I thought the tagine was meant to be used IN THE OVEN… not on the stove top.  After reading the directions for the tagine pot last summer I quickly put it aside.  The new fangled pot I had been wanting for years was now suddenly undesirable.  How on earth was I suppose to use a ceramic pot on a stove top?  Wouldn’t it crack?

Until…

I came across a recipe for Chicken Tagine with Lemon and Olives.  I nixed the olives right away.  The HH would have loved them, but I had no desire to hunt down exotic olives or pay $7 for them.  Plus, I wanted the lemons to be the focus of the dish, not the olives.  In addition to the olives there were a bunch of exotic spices I didn’t have in my pantry… So here I was with a great recipe but lacking some of the key ingredients.

Or so I thought. Awhile back I picked up a few {free} McCormick  seasoning packets.  This one for Chicken Tikka Masala had most of the ingredients I needed.  So I just winged it. My Oh My am I glad I did.  The HH loved this dish.  Love it!  We all did.  Good to the last bite.

This recipe was seriously adapted from the original one I found.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, about 3 lb. {cut up into pieces}
16 oz Chicken Broth
2 tsp. Paprika
1 tsp. Dried Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Garam Masala
1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin
1/2 tsp. Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
2 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil {I used ZOE}
2 Tbs. Butter
2 small yellow onions, chopped
1⁄2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
plus more for garnish
1⁄4 cup Honey {I used Clover Honey}
6 lemon wedges

Directions:
Cut the chicken into serving pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs and 2 wings; cut each half-breast in half. Set aside.

Place chicken in large bowl and sprinkle spices over the top and turn to coat.

In a tagine or Dutch oven heat oil and butter over medium heat.  Add chicken and cook 4-5 minutes on each side.  After the chicken in browned set it aside on a large plate.  Saute onions in leftover oil/butter until browned.  Add chicken broth and bring to a boil.  Turn down heat to simmer and add place the chicken on top of onions. Add honey, cilantro and lemon wedges.  Place lid on tagine and let simmer for 1 hour or until the chicken is practically falling off the bone.

Serve over a bed of rice.

Tagine: Spicy Stews from Morocco