What’s cooking today: Chicken and fresh fig tagine

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil

8 chicken thighs, skin removed

1 large onion (or 2 medium), cut into quarters or sixths

2 garlic cloves, sliced thinly

4 cm piece of ginger, peeled and sliced thinly

14 small figs

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground fennel seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper to taste

Coriander leaves garnish marries superbly

Method

Peel off the skin from the chicken thighs and discard.

Mix the ground cumin, fennel, coriander and cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over both sides of the thighs. 

Oil the bottom of a tagine and place the chicken thighs all around the edges and one in the centre.

Cut the onion into wedges and push them between the thighs.

Sprinkle the sliced ginger and garlic all over.

Trim the stems off the figs and tuck them in between the thighs and onions, with the cut side facing up. I used late-season red (Parisian/Evita) figs, which are subtly sweet and take the Moroccan spicing perfectly.

Season with salt and pepper to taste and pour the chicken stock over.

Put the lid on the tagine and bake in a preheated 180℃ oven for 50 minutes to an hour. If there is too much liquid at the end, spoon it into a saucepan, reduce it down and serve it on the plate. Serve with couscous. Garnish with chopped coriander leaves, the flavour of which gives a lovely finish to the impact of the dish. DM/TGIFood

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