Kosher Gourmet Cooking Class Recipe

Chicken and Sweet Potato Tagine w/ almonds, apricots and olives

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 large onion, thickly sliced
• 1” of ginger, grated
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 tablespoon Ras El Hanout* (see below)
• 1 cup chopped plum tomatoes
• 2 tbsp honey
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken thighs
• 1 large sweet potato
• ½ c dried apricots
• ½ c roasted almonds
• ½ cup pitted, ripe olives (green is traditional)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• black pepper
• salt
• ½ cup coriander, roughly chopped
• Juice of one lemon

Directions:

1. Put olive oil in a heavy saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic until aromatic.
2. Push to one side of the pan and sear chicken thighs on each side until colored (remove).
3. Add ginger, Ras El Hanout, saffron if using, and honey.
4. Add chopped tomatoes, chicken stock, apricots, almonds, olives, salt and pepper.
5. Set the chicken back into the sauce.
6. Peel and slice the sweet potato into ¼ inch rounds and layer it over the chicken.
7. Salt and pepper again.
8. Cover tightly and bake at 350 for at least two hours. Can uncover and baste for the last quarter hour.
9. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the dish.
10. Serve in the pan with coriander (cilantro or culantro) sprinkled on top.
11. Accompany with cous cous or rice.

* Ras El Hanout

(Can use pre-ground spices but there is a difference in taste)

1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground ginger
2 tsp black pepper
2 tsp cloves
2 tsp cayenne
2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
large pinch of saffron/optional