I LOVE Jamie Oliver. He is adorable. For a few years I've watched several of his tv cooking shows which featured the Moroccan dish Tagine.
My favorite food in the world has always been Cajun jambalaya. I always wondered if this dish was the similar of to my much beloved jambalaya, with a different set of flavors.
I finally made an "Oliver" tagine recipe yesterday and my instincts were correct. The tagine is the equivalent of jambalaya with a whole different continent/experience of new, exotic flavors.
I used the recipe shown below. This entree was easy to make, which in my experience with television cooking shows is rare. You only need a bowl and pot: a simple bowl to marinate the chicken in the refrigerator. I didn't have a tagine or casserole pot as the recipe requests so I used a cast iron pot, which was a perfect substitution.
The meal was quick to make. But purchasing a few of the more exotic ingredients in a small town place like the Palm Springs area took more time. The preserved lemons were the biggest challenge. After several visits to grocery store and a call to William Sonoma I finally found them in stock at Bristol Farms . My local Trader Joe's said they have been trying to stock it but they are sold out). When I saw Jamie make this he used portioned, cut lemons. The bottle that I bought I bought at Bristole was pureed/minced.
I couldn't find fresh coriander. I've always heard that Coriander is the same thing as the more common (in California) Cilantro? The information on the internet was even more confusing. I substituted ground dried coriander instead of the fresh coriander stalks. If someone can educate me on this I would appreciate it. Is fresh cilantro the same thing as fresh coriander leaves?
I'd never cooked or eaten (at least knowingly) fresh fennel. It is wonderful. Very mild. When it was raw, it smelled and looked like fresh anise (or licorice which I detest). When cooked, it was amazing and lovely.
I have to say that this tagine is one of the best things I've cooked. Usually I am not pleased with my cooking. But this was a symphony of new flavors. I used chicken thighs, instead of the whole chix (I don't like white meat) and the meat just fell off the bones. Served on top of couscous, OMG
This and jambalaya are now my favorite dishes.
Jamie Oliver’s Chicken, Olive and Preserved Lemon Tagine
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
1 whole chicken (approximately 1.5kg), preferably free range or organic, skin-on, jointed into 4 (get your butcher to do this for you)**
olive oil
1–2 large bulbs of fennel
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
a small bunch of fresh coriander**
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
2–3 small preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped**
80g black and green olives, stoned
a good pinch of saffron
500ml hot organic chicken stock
For the spice rub
1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed up
1 level teaspoon ground cumin
1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
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