Chicken Tagine

fileId:3096224744204465;size:full; A recent piece in Slashfood highlighted studies that linked curcumin, a compound found in turmeric, to reduced risk of cancer and Alzheimer's Disease. Turmeric is the spice that gives curry powder (and American mustard) its distinctive color, but it's also a common spice in North African and Middle Eastern cuisine -- which is what brings me to it.

For the past year or so I've been interested in non-European Mediterranean foods (some of which I've posted here), which has led me to use tumeric fairly frequently. Last week I made Spanish Pork Kabobs and this weekend I made a Chicken Tandoori, which also used tumeric.

As usual, I had something in mind when I started researching recipes and consequently, although I looked at quite a few recipes, the end product was of my own devising. The result was good, I was pleased with the proportion of fruit to meat. But the seasoning was milder than what I hoped for. I've posted what I did below, and following the recipe are some notes on what I plan to try next time.

Chicken Tagine

1 1/2 lb chicken -- cut into 1" cubes
3 tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp tumeric
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp crush red pepper
2 tbsp olive oil
1 ea md. red onion -- cut into rings then quartered
1 c chicken broth or stock
8 ea dried figs -- stemmed and cut in half
8 ea dried apricots -- cut in half
8 ea prunes -- cut in half
1/4 c raisins

Combine chicken, 3 tablespoons olive oil, and all spices in a bowl. Use your hands to mix thoroughly.

Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown chicken in batches. Remove last batch of chicken, add onion, and sauté for about 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent burning. Add stock and deglaze pot.

Return chicken to pot and add dried fruit. Bring to a boil then immediately reduce heat to lowest setting, cover, and simmer for one hour. Serve on basmati rice.

Note for next time: Increase turmeric to 1 1/2 tablespoons, increase ginger to 3/4 teaspoon, increase red pepper to 1/2 teaspoon. Add juice of one lime.

Also, it would certainly be worthwhile to marinate the chicken in the spices for several hours, and it might be worthwhile to heat the oil in a small skillet and infuse it with the spices before marinating.

Kevin Weeks is a Gather food correspondent (Paisano), personal chef, cooking teacher, and writer in Knoxville, Tennessee who spends too many hours on his feet, cooking. "Paisano" is a column focused on peasant dishes from around the world. To read more of Kevin's writings or connect to him click here. His blog, Seriously Good, is read by 75,000 cooks a month.