Chicken Tagine with Almonds, Apricots, and Olives

By courtneyepowell

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup dried apricots, preferably Turkish
• 2/3 cup fresh orange juice (from 3 to 4 oranges)
• 1 whole chicken (about 3 1/2 pounds), cut into 10 pieces
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, halved lengthwise
• 5 medium carrots, cut on the bias into 3-inch pieces
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• Pinch of saffron threads
• 3/4 cup raw almonds
• 1/2 cup green olives, pitted
• 1/2 cup lightly packed cilantro sprigs
• Steamed couscous, preferably whole wheat
• Harissa

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from marthastewart.com

Preparation

Step 1

Step 1
In a small saucepan, bring apricots and orange juice to a simmer over medium-high heat. Remove from heat; let cool.

Step 2
Season chicken with salt and pepper. Heat a braiser pan or deep straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat; add oil and swirl to coat bottom. Cook half of chicken, flipping once, until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Cook remaining chicken; transfer to plate.

Step 3
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat. Reduce heat to medium; add onion, garlic, and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is translucent, about 3 minutes. Stir in ginger and cinnamon and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Step 4
Stir in broth and saffron, scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Return chicken and accumulated juices to pan. Drain apricots; add to pan with almonds and olives. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until a thermometer inserted in thickest part of chicken breast (without touching bone) reads 165 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro. Serve with couscous and harissa.