On a recent busy school day, I had a hankering for tagine chicken. Weird craving, I know. After Lilah’s speech therapy session ended, the twins and I took a trip to my second home – Trader Joe’s – to grab the ingredients to throw into my funky looking, red domed tagine. While listening to the kids chat in the backseat about Super Mario, I began daydreaming about what to pair the chicken dish with. I toyed with the ideas of couscous, farro, barley, and rice. Then it hit me – cauliflower rice! I figured I could incorporate veggies into this meal by using cauliflower as rice, and I’d jazz it up with some other tasty accouterments like butternut squash and some herbs and spices. That was it, my mind was made up. The twins grabbed the kid-sized shopping carts and I warned Lilah not to crash into the backs of anyone’s heels.
Jake made a mad dash for the back corner of the store because he knows they provide samples on a daily basis. That day’s offering was a seasonal pumpkin-shaped pasta with a creamy autumn harvest pasta sauce. It won Jake’s seal of approval and a spot in his little shopping cart.
We circled back around to the produce section to grab cauliflower rice and butternut squash cubes. As we made our way through the store, we were dazzled by everything fall and pumpkin. It seems they have more pumpkin products this year than any other year! Jake was enticed by an end cap with frozen food and was holding up two products asking if we could get them. One was a butternut squash mac and cheese, which I’ve had before and loved, the other was a bag of cauliflower rice risotto with butternut squash. Talk about mental telepathy! The creative geniuses in Trader Joe’s kitchen had ESP and had that product ready and waiting for me. I was so relieved to find that I wouldn’t have to go through the extra effort of roasting the squash before combining it with the cauliflower rice. It would surely save a lot of time, especially since it was already 5 p.m. Jake tossed the two into his basket, we grabbed some fresh chicken thighs and drumsticks, and headed to the register, but not before snagging a cheese sample in the wine department. By the way-the syrah soaked cheese with cinnamon was interesting, definitely didn’t dislike it, but probably wouldn’t add it to any charcuterie tray in the immediate future, unless it’s a pumpkin spiced/fall themed tray.
With our TJ’s haul emptied out onto the counter, I fired up the oven and got things cooking. I started out by simply roasting the chicken in a pan in the oven. I topped them with some salt, pepper, and olive oil and roasted until they were cooked throughout. While the chicken was roasting, I fired up the stove and chopped up some onions and garlic to saute in olive oil in the tagine.
Once the onions were sufficiently soft and browning, I added in prunes, green olives, lemon slices, oregano, salt, and pepper. I let those ingredients simmer until the flavors were married.
Once the chicken was done roasting, I added the pieces to the tagine and poured in some chicken broth, popped on the lid to the tagine, and let everything cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce thickened.
I cooked the cauliflower rice risotto on the stove and then plated the meal.
If you haven’t been able to guess by now, I’m extremely honest. The tagine chicken was delicious and that’s why I’m sharing the recipe I concocted on my blog. The risotto, on the other hand, was not. It was very bland and lacked excitement and flavor. I’m not quite sure what could have improved the risotto, but I will attempt to make my own and see how it fares. Perhaps it’s the texture, in which case I can’t change that, or perhaps it’s the taste, in which case I can do something to improve, only time will tell.
Tagine Chicken
Ingredients
Directions
So, if you’re looking for a healthy and flavorful chicken dish to add to your weeknight rotation, this is a great option. You don’t necessarily need a tagine in order to achieve the flavor. Any dutch oven or generously sized lidded pot or pan will suffice.
Have you tried this recipe? Let me know what you think in the comments below!
© 2019 Twinstant Gratification, LLC
Tamar Blazer is an attorney-turned-twin mom, with a passion for her family, friends, writing, good food, home decor and laughing. When she’s not lamenting on her lack of sleep, you can find her doing one of the too many projects she likes to take on, usually with a twin on either side.
