Tagine Chicken

Recently, I was shopping a local "Tuesday Morning" when I saw a very small ceramic Tagine which I instinctively purchased.  When I shop, many times I get carried away, especially when I come across the cool cooking accessories which are contained in the photos of the many cookbooks I read.  This is a perfect example of just such a situation.  Every exotic cookbook and culinary magazine contains colorful photos of Moroccan cuisine being prepared in a beautiful clay Tagine pot over an open flame.  How can you not want to try it out, right?  Before last night, I have never eaten Moroccan or African food and I certainly have never endeavored to prepare it either.   I would not consider insulting the Moroccan or African people by claiming that my dinner was in anyway an authentic Tagine meal,  but for not knowing what to expect and for a first time effort, it was really delicious!  Totally different spices and flavors than those I usually use and a very delightful change, indeed. 

The first important piece of information to note is that the ceramic or clay type Tagine that I purchased can not be heated directly over an open flame or in an oven hotter than 350 degrees.  There are some Tagine's that can be placed over flame, but the one I purchased can not.  Therefore, it needed to be gently heated over a flame diffuser, which is the black disc you will notice the Tagine sitting on in the first photo, which took a long time to achieve.  However, after 30 minutes or so the Tagine and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil and 1 garlic clove I placed in the bottom part were hot enough for the chicken.  I used 1 large chicken thigh (I told you it was a teeny, tiny Tagine just big enough for 1 piece of chicken....not a smart purchase) and placed it skin side down in the hot olive oil.  I browned the chicken for about 10 minutes on each side which really just rendered some of the fat and did not really create any brown color.  I removed the chicken and set it aside on a plate and added 1/2 of a sliced onion and sauteed that for about 5 minutes.  To the onions I added 1 tablespoon of tomato paste and 1/4 cup of white wine and combined to form a light broth.  Next, return the chicken, skin side up on top of the onion mixture. Scatter over a handful of raisins (you could also substitute dried prunes or apricots or even use any combination of the three) and sprinkle over a spice blend which is made of the following: 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon coriander, 1 teaspoon sweet paprika, 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper and 1 teaspoon tumeric. Place the cover over the Tagine and continue to cook for about 1 hour. 

After the chicken had cooked in the Tagine for an hour, the aroma of the spices mixing with the wine and tomato broth that were filling my home were crazy wonderful.  The chicken was fall off the bone tender and very juicy.  The only negative was that the skin on the chicken did not crisp and was a bit rubbery, so I did remove it.  Perhaps the next time I will remove the skin before cooking.  I made a pot of Basmati rice and served the chicken with the broth over the rice and garnished with sliced scallions and a dollop of Major Grey's Chutney.  If you have never tried this type of cuisine, give it a go, I think you will be pleasantly surprised with the result.  You could definately make this exact recipe right in a covered skillet or dutch oven, as well.