Loaded Tunisian tagine with harissa sauce

Tagine isn't one of my standard meals and it is safe to say that I'm no expert. Even so, I have to express my concern about the name of this dinner. Is it really a tagine? The other few I have made in the past have been cooked long and slow, all in one pot or oven dish. This one was very different, yet the Pinterest person who posted the recipe called it a tagine. Like I said, I'm no expert. I shall leave the name open. Make you own mind up.

The recipe said to use chicken or chickpeas. Why not both? It also said that vegetarians could add cauliflower. Do you have to be a vegetarian to eat cauliflower? If so, I'm a rebel and I want it anyway! Perhaps it would be allowed if it is used as a substitute rather than an addition. Yes, I think that would be acceptable. Let's swap the couscous for cauliflower.

This meal was meant to be cooked in an oven proof skillet with a lid or a Dutch oven. I didn't have a Dutch oven and although my skillet was big, it wasn't big enough. Instead I used a deep oven tray and covered it with tin foil. I actually used a frying pan as well, as the cooking started out on the hob and ended in the oven. More to wash up, but there was plenty of time for that.

The tagine was served with a harissa sauce, something I had never made before and never eaten either. In hindsight, half a chilli was too much. Note to self: Use 1/4 chilli next time. To prevent heads from exploding during dinner time, I added a lot more yogurt at the very last minute, to reduce the heat. By adding it just before serving, I made sure it didn't soak up the heat from the rest of the sauce. The trick worked. The recipe I'm sharing is for the original version, as you may be more heat tolerant than I am. Should it be too hot, make sure you have extra yogurt to add later.

Harissa sauce

1 cup plain yogurt, I used Greek

1/2 bunch or a fair amount of dried parsley (I used dried)

1 garlic clove, finely chopped

1/2 chilli, finely chopped

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

Tagine

1 kg chicken fillets in bite-sized chunks

1 tin chickpeas, drained

1 cauliflower head, cut into small florets

3 medium carrots, cut into 1 cm diagonal coins

2 medium onions, sliced

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/4 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped

1 cup water

1 tbsp ginger, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp paprika or a pinch of chilli powder

1. Start by making the sauce. Get the ingredients out.

2. Add all ingredients to a bowl.

3. Mix well and leave in the fridge to mature.

4. Get all ingredients out for the tagine.

5. Cut the cauliflower into small florets.

I opted for cutting the florets in half, as I wanted them to be bite-sized.

6. Add the cauliflower to a baking tray with a little oil.

7. Add the drained chickpeas to the baking tray and season with salt and a sprinkle of paprika. Roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 200 degrees, until done but with a bite left in the cauliflower.

8. Season the chicken with salt and paprika (or chilli, if you want it hot).

9. Chop the carrot, onion, garlic and ginger.

10. Brown the chicken in a little oil in a frying pan.

11. It doesn't have to be cooked through, as it will continue cooking in the oven.

12. Once the chicken has browned, set aside and start softening the onion and carrot in the same frying pan. 

13. Check on the cauliflower and chickpeas. Shuffle to avoid them burning.

14. Once the onion has softened somewhat, add ginger and garlic and stir.

15. Add cumin, coriander, turmeric and cinnamon and mix well.

16. Add the chopped tomatoes and stir.

17. Add the apricots.

18. Add the water and leave to cook until it starts to bubble.

19. Carefully pour the the contents of the saucepan into the oven tray and mix it with the cauliflower and chickpeas.

20. Add the chicken chunks and push them into the mixture.

If you were to use couscous, this is when you would add it. Mix it well with the other ingredients to make sure it cooks in the liquid.

21. Cover with tinfoil and cook in the oven at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes, until the chicken is fully cooked and the carrots have softened.

The recipe said it would take 15 minutes, but my chicken wasn't done in that time. That may be due to cooking it too little in the frying pan or using the wrong kind of cooking vessel for the oven.

22. Check the chicken prior to serving, by cutting into the largest pieces. They must be white all the way through, no pink meat in sight. Never serve pink chicken.

23. Dish up and serve with the harissa sauce.

This is a meal that does well in the fridge overnight, so I recommend cooking a big batch. I'm sure it can be frozen, although I haven't tried it. It took longer than the 45 minutes the recipe suggested, but perhaps that's because I cooked more of it. Either way, I'll definitely make it again. Should I opt for a milder sauce next time, I'd add chilli to the tagine. It needs a touch of heat, in my opinion, but it makes no difference if it comes from the dish itself or the sauce.