I really surprised myself with this Moroccan apricot chicken tajine recipe! You see, I’m usually the type who burns her grilled cheese sandwiches on BOTH sides and overcooks her hardboiled eggs by like 15 minutes. I CAN’T cook. Put-together and ready-to-eat foods are my best friends. As you probably guessed, chocolate, pre-packaged cheese portions, crackers and fruits that don’t require peeling are my main forms of sustenance. Adulting is going great you guys, haha.
As the days get colder, I crave comfort foods more and more. All I want to eat, and do eat, are things like stews, ramen, cheesy pastas, pot pies, my weight in banana bread and hot chocolate. I dub this my “Hibernation Diet”. In the winter time, I usually wear my blanket long and thick. I sleep late into the afternoon and when my grumbling stomach stirs me to a wake, I wander into the depths of my kitchen, leaving steam footprints on the cold tiles as I forage in the fridge and cabinets for my first meal of the day. After I’ve had my fill of all that the kitchen could offer, I would leave a pile of dishes and make my way back to the couch, burrowing deep under the cushions to drift safely into a hidden slumber until meal #2.
This Moroccan apricot chicken tajine was inspired by my love for spices. I love all cuisines that use spice for flavour instead of sugar, salt and fat. There are a couple restaurants that I go to when I’m craving African, Indian, or Afghanistan food but with my hectic schedule these days I haven’t had the time to go anywhere! Good thing this dish is just as easy to make at home.
Honestly, I was pretty nervous about making this before I started since my track record with cooking is the prettiest. But every component turned out so well and didn’t need to troubleshoot at all! I think using cast iron really helped. Cast iron is a great distributor of heat and it does so slowly and evenly. For someone like me who’s a constant burner of everything, this material is a lifesaver!!!
I used a Staub oval cast iron dish to fry the chicken thighs and achieve that beautiful golden brown. Then I placed everything into an 11″ tajine (yes it’s HUGEEE) for baking in the oven. I’ve used other brands of cast iron before but I have to say that Staub is my favourite. The quality of their products is just amazing and everything is made in France and they all come with a little ribbon tied around the handle. It’s the little things you guys! The details matter! Also, I love their selection of sizes and colours!
This Moroccan apricot chicken tajine was delishhhh. The flavours were prominent but not overbearing and the apricots added just the right amount of sweetness. The chicken was moist and tender. Though simple, the dry rub did wonders! I will definitely be making this again and again with different variations. Maybe some raisins and saffron rice next time?
Zwilling and I are teaming up to give you a Christmas gift! You can use the code ZWCONNIE to get 10% off from now until December 15th on the entire Zwilling website. This includes brands like Staub, Demeyere, AND Miyabi. And it gets better, their entire website is already on sale, so this is a sale on a sale! If you know a chef or baker who would just light up with some new cookware and gadgets, feel free to share the code! It’s Christmas, get your foodies what they want, what they really really want!
Moroccan Apricot Chicken Tajine
Ingredients
- 200 g Apricots
- 400 g chickpeas
- 4 chicken thighs
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 sweet onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 3 tbsp olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F
- In a small bowl, mix together all spices, salt and 2 tbsp olive oil together until it forms a smooth paste
- Rub spice paste onto chicken thighs. On medium heat, cook the thighs in a skillet for 4 minutes on each side. Remove from skillet and place in tagine.
- In a pot, combine chicken broth and apricots together, simmer for 10 minutes.
- On a chopping board, gently smash the garlic cloves to crack them open slightly.
- Pour out the oil and burnt bits from the skillet. On medium heat, cook garlic with 1 tbsp olive oil until fragrant, then add chopped onion and chickpeas and cook until onion is translucent.
- Pour chicken broth and apricots into tajine
- Add chickpea mixture into tajine
- Bake with lid on for 1 hour. Check at 30 minutes and add more broth as needed.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a comment below and tag @chocolateandconnie on Instagram.
This post is sponsored by Zwilling but my review is honest and reflect my personal thoughts/experience with their product.
Recipe adapted from Nutrizonia