Warm up with Moroccan tagines

Looking for something warming and nourishing to feed your family as the nights get colder?  Try a delicious Moroccan chicken tagine.  A zesty stew made with warming spices such as ginger, cumin, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli.

For the uninitiated, a tagine is a cone-shaped cooking vessel traditionally used in Morocco and made of either ceramic or unglazed clay.  Most tagine recipes (called tagines) layer the aromatic spices, meat, vegetables and liquid.  As the food cooks, steam rises into the cone, condenses and trickles down keeping the meat tender and flavoursome as it cooks.  If you don’t have a tagine a regular heavy-based pot is also suitable provided it has a tight-fitting lid.

Did you know that 1g of chilli can increase your body temperature by 0.02 degrees? As part of a healthy diet, many of the warming spices such as chilli also have measurable health benefits including impressive anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and anti-oxidant properties. Capsaicin, the chemical that makes chillies and peppers hot can block a sensory neuropeptide in the body called substance P, which is part of the body’s pain and inflammation process.

If well tolerated, there are many reasons to add a little more spice to your diet. You can easily grow your own chillies in pots or in the garden in a sunny position. Chillies grow best in a warmer climate as the seeds require 18-22 degrees celcius to germinate.

Warm up and enjoy my Moroccan chicken tagine recipe below.

Moroccan chicken tagine

- Serves 4

560g boneless, skinless chicken thighs

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 medium-sized red onions, halved and sliced

2 carrots, thickly sliced

1 cup chicken broth or organic chicken stock

400g can tinned chickpeas, drained and rinsed

400g can diced tomatoes 

3 dates, pitted and roughly chopped

3 cloves garlic, minced

¼ - ½ teaspoon chilli flakes 

1 cinnamon stick

2 ¼ cups whole-wheat couscous or kamut (or 1 ½ cups rice) 

1 teaspoon each of ground ginger, ground cumin and ground tumeric

½ teaspoon ground black pepper 

Pinch of sea salt

2 tablespoons flaked almonds

Garnish - ½ cup coriander and lemon wedges

Method

In a small bowl, stir together the ground ginger, cumin, tumeric, salt and pepper and sprinkle over the chicken.  Place a large heavy-based pot (with lid for use later) onto cooktop over medium setting and add oil.  Once the pot is warmed add the chicken pieces and cook until browned, turning once.  Set aside.   

Reduce heat to low, add onion, garlic and carrots and saute for 3 minutes.  Stir in broth then add chicken, chickpeas, diced tomatoes, dates, chilli flakes and cinnamon stick.  Cover pot with lid and bring to boil then reduce to low simmer for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile prepare cous-cous (or rice). 

Once the chicken tagine is cooked, discard cinnamon stick and spoon over cous-cous.  Tope with flaked almonds and garnish with coriander and serve with lemon wedges.