Moroccan Chicken and Apricot Tagine

Sweet and spicy, this delicious tagine will warm you up on the coldest of days. A great dish to serve to guests, so invite a crowd to share the tagine goodness! This is a relatively simple dish; it only takes a minute to grind the spices in a coffee grinder. (Just make sure you clean it before you make your next pot of coffee! See Tips & Notes for instructions.)

Total Time: 50 minutes

Servings: 6

Moroccan_Chicken_and_Apricot_Tagine3_0.jpg

Ingredients

Tagine

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorn
  • 1 tablespoon coriander seed
  • 1 tablespoon cumin seed
  • 1 tablespoon caraway seed
  • 1 tablespoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon turmeric
  • 6 chicken breast halves, boneless, skinless
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup dried apricot halves

Couscous

  • 2 cups chicken stock
  • 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 1/2 cups couscous
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
  • 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced

Preparation

Grind spices coarsely in a spice grinder or coffee grinder. Put the chicken in a casserole pan, sprinkle the spice mixture over it, and then use your hands to rub it all over the chicken evenly. Position the chicken in an even layer in the pan and surround with dried apricot halves, and drizzle olive oil over it all. Cover and bake for 25 minutes, until the chicken is firm to the touch and reaches 180 degrees internally. Bring the stock to a boil, add olive oil, and stir in the couscous and salt. Cover and remove from heat, let stand covered for 5 minutes. Spread the hot couscous on a platter and serve the chicken and apricots on top, sprinkled with toasted almonds and parsley.

Tips & Notes

Coffee Grinder Cleaning: To clean a coffee grinder (to use for both spices and coffee), wipe the coffee grinder with a damp towel, then grind a couple of tablespoons of raw rice to clean thoroughly, then discard the rice. Equipment: Meat thermometer for chicken.