North African chicken tagine recipe | Good Food

North African chicken tagine

2 large chicken breasts
skin on
4 chicken thighs
bone in and skin on
2 tbsp olive oil
200g shallots
peeled
2 garlic cloves
sliced
4cm piece ginger
grated
1 tsp cumin seeds
lightly crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds
lightly crushed
2 small cinnamon sticks
large pinch saffron
threads
1 tsp ground ginger
pinch crushed dried chilli
375g peeled butternut squash
cut into chunks
500ml chicken stock
1 rounded tbsp clear honey
2 tbsp roughly chopped coriander

Method

step 1
Heat oven to 180C/160C/gas 4. Cut each chicken breast in half, then season all the chicken. Heat the oil in a mediumsize ovenproof casserole dish. Add the chicken, skin-side down, and brown well all over – you can do it in batches. Remove from the pan and set aside.
step 2
Lower heat slightly, add the shallots to the pan and cook until golden brown all over. Add the garlic and grated ginger and cook for 30 secs before adding all the spices and cooking for 1 min more.
step 3
Throw the butternut squash into the pan and stir to coat in the spices. Arrange the chicken, skin side uppermost, on top of the shallots and squash. Pour over the stock and drizzle in the honey. Bring to a gentle simmer, then transfer to the oven to bake for 40 mins until tender. Scatter with the coriander and serve with couscous and a bowl of harissa, if you like.