MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH CAULIFLOWER “COUSCOUS”
Published in
3 min readDec 9, 2018
MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH CAULIFLOWER “COUSCOUS”
Serves 4
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
FOR THE CHICKEN TAGINE
EQUIPMENT
Dutch Oven or 8 qt heavy bottomed stock pot
Tongs
Wooden spoon
TIPS/THINGS TO REMEMBER
- When separating chicken drumstick from thigh, place the tip of the knife right into the joint and then the flesh should cut easily apart
- A “large dice” is a like a rough chop, but with uniformly sized pieces
- Preserved lemons are easily made and stored in the refrigerator to have on hand for adding to all types of recipes; otherwise, the ethnic section of your grocery store should carry these. They are preserved in salt, so will lessen the necessity to add a lot of salt to your finished dish
- Brown the chicken in batches to prevent overcrowding, starting with half the cooking oil for the first batch and adding the remainder for the second batch.
INGREDIENTS
- 4 Whole chicken legs, drumstick and thigh separated
- 4 Stalks of celery, large dice
- 4 Large carrots, large dice
- 1 Large yellow onion, large dice
- 1 Cup of Marrakesh Sitar Moroccan Cooking Base
- 2 Cups unsalted Chicken Stock
- 1 Tbsp of Marrakesh Sitar Spice Blend
- ¼ Cup cooking oil to coat bottom of pan
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1–2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice, to taste
- ⅓ Cup sliced preserved lemon
- ½ Cup sliced toasted almonds
- ⅓ Cup sliced green olives
- Chopped parsely for garnish
STEPS
- Heat dutch oven over high heat and add oil when the pot is hot.
- Pat chicken dry, season with salt, and sear on all sides until brown — about 6–8 minutes. Remove to a plate.
- Add onion, carrot and celery and sauté 8–10 minutes until slightly caramelized.
- Add the Marrakesh Sitar base and Spice Blend, stir well.
- Place chicken back into pot and add chicken stock.
- Bring to a boil and lower heat to a simmer; cook 25–30 minutes.
- Stir in lemon juice, preserved lemon, sliced almonds, and green olives.
- Adjust salt after adding preserved lemon and olives.
- Garnish with parsley and serve with Cauliflower “Couscous.”
CAULIFLOWER “COUSCOUS”
EQUIPMENT
Large Saute Pan
Wooden spoon
TIPS/THINGS TO REMEMBER
- Cauliflower is a versatile alternative to high carbohydrate rice and couscous (wheat)
- To toast pine nuts, place on cookie sheet in a 325℉ for about 5–7 minutes. Watch closely, as they have a high oil content and will burn easily
INGREDIENTS
- 1 Qt (1–2 heads) of riced cauliflower (see below)
- ½ Cup Marrakesh Sitar Moroccan Cooking Base
- ¾ Cup toasted pine nuts
- ½ Cup currants, soaked in hot water for 15 min, water discarded
- ½ Cup chopped parsley
- 1 Lemon, zested and juiced
- Olive oil to coat bottom of pan
- Kosher salt to taste
STEPS
- Heat pan over medium high; add oil when hot.
- Add Marrakesh Sitar Moroccan Cooking Base and cook for 3 minutes until fragrant.
- Stir in cauliflower, and cook for 5–8 minutes.
- Turn off heat and mix in pine nuts, currants, parsley, lemon zest and juice.
- Season with salt to taste.
HOW TO “RICE” CAULIFLOWER
- Wash and remove stems from cauliflower
- Cut into smaller 1–2” florets
- Place into a food processor or blender and blend high until the cauliflower breaks down into rice sized grains