Organic chicken tagine with mograbieh & minted yoghurt
Recipe extracted from
COYA – French, Middle Eastern Cuisine by Ashraf Saleh. New Holland Publishers RRP $39.99 available from all good book retailers or online at: www.newhollandpublishers.com
Serves 4
Time 45 minutes
INGREDIENTS
1 kg organic chicken Maryland (4 pieces)
100 g ghee
1 onion, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, crushed
4 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick
a few threads saffron
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon paprika
1 handful dried apricots
½ preserved lemon, finely chopped
1 handful pitted olives
1 bunch coriander (cilantro)
Mograbieh
100 g mograbieh (pearl couscous)
a few saffron threads
50 g ghee
salt and pepper, to season
micro herbs, to garnish
halved cherry tomatoes, to garnish (optional)
Minted yoghurt
1 bunch mint
100 g yoghurt
1 garlic clove, chopped
METHOD
Sear the chicken with the ghee in a heavy-based pan over medium heat, then set aside. Sauté the onion, carrot, celery and garlic. Then add the bay leaves and spices and 500 ml of water before adding the chicken back in. Cook in a tagine or covered casserole dish over low heat for about 25 minutes. Add the apricots and cook for a further 10 minutes. When cooked, add the preserved lemon, olives and coriander.
Place the mograbieh, 1-litre water, salt and saffron in a saucepan. Bring to the boil and cook for 12 minutes. Strain and then sauté with the ghee.
To make the minted yoghurt, pick the leaves from the mint and chop. Add to the blender with the yoghurt and chopped garlic. Add salt to taste and purée until smooth. To serve, place the mograbieh in a bowl, top with the chicken tagine and vegetables. Add dollops of the minted yoghurt and garnish with micro herbs and halved cherry tomatoes.