Friday favourites - easy chicken tagine

This is from Nigel Slater, via the BBC, and I could find all of the ingredients in the supermarket. I used preserved lemons – I got these in the Carrefour at the Dreve Rochelle in Waterloo, in the ‘foreign foods’ section. You can also get them in any North African corner shops, should you have one nearby.

For the spice paste

2-3 large, juicy garlic cloves, peeled, roughly chopped

pinch sea salt flakes

2-3 good pinches smoked paprika

2-3 good pinches ground turmeric

1 tsp cumin seeds

glug olive or groundnut oil

For the casserole

6 large chicken thighs, bone in and skin on (I used chicken three breasts cut into about 5 pieces each to feed four of us)

good glug of olive oil

2 onions, peeled, roughly chopped

1 lemon, cut in half, thinly sliced (I used a preserved lemon - make sure you rince it first)

pinch of saffron strands (I had none, so I just left this out)

handful green olives, pits removed

small handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Preparation

For the spice paste, crush the garlic cloves and sea salt with a pestle in a mortar. Add the smoked paprika, turmeric and cumin seeds and grind to a paste. Add just enough olive or groundnut oil to make the paste runny enough to pour, but thick enough to coat the chicken.

Put the chicken into a bowl, pour the spice paste over them and toss well to coat all of the meat. Cover with cling film and leave to marinate in the fridge for as long as time allows, overnight if possible.

The paste, not pourable but thick

Heat the olive oil in a large shallow pan, then cook the onions until softened. Add the chicken thighs and cook until coloured lightly on both sides. Add the lemon slices and pour in enough water to come halfway up the chicken pieces. Stir in the saffron, if you're using it, then season well, cover with a lid and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender. Add the olives and fresh coriander and serve.

Chicken tagine

Bulgur with green beans

Bulgur wheat from Delhaize

I served this with some bulgur, made with lots of chopped green beans cooked off a bit first in water. 

Middle eastern style meatballs

These little balls of flavour are very simple and quick to make. Lamb mince is quite difficult to get, so I use veal and pork mince instead.

500-600g of pork and veal mince

1 grated red onion (I know it’s a pain in the proverbial. If you can really finely chop it, go for it) (and if you've no red onions, a normal one is fine)

4 garlic cloves (I like it garlicky)

Root ginger. If you don’t have any a good shake of the powdered stuff is fine). If you are using the fresh stuff, peel about 3cm with the back of a spoon.

Chili flakes or powder – as much as you feel like

2 teaspoons of cumin (seeds or powder – grind the seeds first if you are using them)

1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

Tomatoes – either ones lurking in the fridge or a can or a carton of passata

Herbs – whatever is in the herb cupboard or in the garden/fridge

I always make couscous to go with this. Directions below.

Wash your hands well and put your frying pan or tagine on the hob to heat up. Add a little oil to coat the bottom. Mix the meat, onion, garlic and spices together in a bowl with your hands and shape the mixture into about 15-20 golfball sized rounds. Place these in the tagine and seal the outsides of them. You may need to do this in batches. Once they are all sealed, turn the heat down and add your chosen tomato type. Season with the herbs, salt and pepper and put the lid on the tagine. If you’re using a pan no need to do this. Cook the whole lot for about 20 minutes.

I’d sometimes add another veg or two to this to bulk it up or to help me get to my five-a-day. Don’t. I’ve tried several vegetables and dried apricots, and honestly, they don’t add anything to this. If you need more vegetables, include a salad at the table.

At the end of the 20 minutes, check the meatballs are cooked. If so, add some chopped coriander on top.

For the couscous, melt a little butter in a frying pan. Once melted, add some couscous – about one cup for two people. How big is a cup? It’s probably what you use for your morning coffee. Once the couscous has absorbed the butter, add a cup of water or stock and cook until the water is absorbed. This should take about 1-2 minutes. Add any herbs you have leftover – coriander, spring onions, mint.

Meatballs with green beans and apricots. It is better without the additions.