I made this last night and it was delicious! I thought that whole dried apricots might be too much but they were perfect. My marinade also did not yield any juice so I appreciated the chicken broth addition which was easy to make from the backs and wings of the whole chickens used to make the tagine. Thanks for the tweaks and the recipe.
I’ve started adding a tablespoon or two of white miso to soups to give them a more complex flavor since I rely on Better than Bouillon for soup broth (my tiny apartment fridge can’t fit leftover carcasses and veggie remainders in order to make my own). I also keep a jar of the Umami sea salt from Oaktown Spices handy (a bit pricey, but a little bit goes a long way, and it’s so worth it flavor wise) which has dried mushroom mixed in as an alternative to miso depending on my mood or what I’m making.
I'm looking forward to trying this chicken tagine recipe. I will make it in my Le Creseut Dutch oven as I don't have a tagine. I will also check out the lamb tagine in your My Paris Kitchen book that I have. I just made a pork loin with butternut squash and apples and the flavours in this dish are similar -- we loved the pork. I really can't identify with the "no time to cook" claim as I find that I can cook a weekly dinner faster than waiting for a frozen meal or take out. I love to cook and find the whole process meditative. Even when I was getting home at 7 PM, I was thinking what I would make for dinner on my way home. However, I didn't have kids but an appreciative husband who enjoyed everything that I made for him, so this makes a difference. I wanted to add that I have Daniel Holzman's The Meatball Shop Cookbook and it's great. For many years I made the Swedish Meatballs and Mushroom Gravy from this book as an addition to my turkey dinner at Christmas and it was always a huge it.
As someone who is planning to retire to Europe in the next seven years or so, France is near the top of the list, I’m surprised to hear that boxed stock is not available there. I’m already gearing up for the myriad of other things expats there miss, like ranch dressing, tacos or any Mexican food. But boxed stock hadn’t crossed my mind.
A lot of people (Americans) move to France and are surprised there's no boxed stock, although now there are two brands (one made my Maggi), and the frozen food chain Picard sells "pellets" of frozen concentrated stock, although they're not very good, imho.
Fortunately we have much better access to Mexican ingredients here and there are a few shops that sell foods from Mexico, and you can even get corn tortillas! : )
It's probably the other way around ; ) Many cultures have been doing roasted/braised meats with fruit, including those in North Africa, the Middle East, and in Persian & Arabic countries. Chicken Marbella has capers, which was a brilliant touch by the Silver Palate folks, although I've never made it - but always wanted to.
My all-purpose advice when people say, “I don’t have time to cook” is “make doubles.” I very rarely cook one meal of something. I cook additional portions. For instance, last night, I made salmon croquettes with Goan spiced rice. I ate half and now I have a meal waiting for me. I don’t have to eat it the very next day, but having something waiting relieves the stress of coming up with new ideas all the time. (Okay, I know people would say, “You’ve invented leftovers” but viewing it as a second meal works better for me.)
I try to make doubles, and my husband (and especially my father-in-law who visits often and for long periods of time) just adjust their portions accordingly so all that extra work (extra food to lug home from the store on my bike, extra chopping) just comes to nothing. Plus I have a 7yr old boy who will soon be eating twice his weight in food, so I’m really in for it. Send help. :)
I sometimes see "cooking for one" cookbooks, but when I lived alone, I always made regular-sized portions of food and ate the rest of next day or so. It means you've already got your next dinner (or lunch) waiting!
It sound wonderful -- but I was particularly taken with the part where the original recipe said to let the chicken sit in the refrigerator until the marinade begins to boil. That might be a very long time.
I think I didn't quite explain their process vs. mine well enough so I edited it, but their method replied on the chicken pieces and onions yielding enough juice to come to a boil. Mine didn't, so I added liquid as I usually do when I make a tagine. I edited the text a little so it's clearer.
This sounds terrific..and I just happen to have the ingredients all on hand, so yay!!
When I worked full time and raised a family, I shopped once a week and basically made sure my pantry had all the items to make quick meals like pasta puttanesca, or sesame noodles, or a simple flank steak with a quick ginger marinade. As long as I kept fresh greens in the fridge for salad, dinner was pretty much a breeze. It did help that everyone had to pitch in setting the table, making the salad dressing, feeding the dog (well, he got fed first! ; ) etc. but if you are organized and resolve not to make complicated meals, it isn’t too difficult.
I also did intensive food planning before a weekly 8-bag foray to the grocery store once a week.
My kids were, thankfully, up for almost all kinds of cuisines from around the world and Pierre Franey’s 60-Minute Gourmet cookbook was a godsend, along with, a bit later, Fast Food My Way, by Jacques Pepin.
Takeout was not an option; there was none under a 40-minute drive away. My mom was such a stellar performer in the kitchen that the limited frozen offerings in the grocery store in those days were not something I would have served without guilt.
That being said, when my spouse and I went out, leaving the kids with a babysitter, the kids were overjoyed at getting little aluminum containers of Stouffers Turkey Tetrazzine. And I was so happy to have a night free from the stove.
When I don't have homemade chicken broth available I have begun using a mix of Knorr & LeeKumKee Chicken bullion broth. I think the LeeKumKee may have a little fat it in but the flavors of the 2 together are more rounded than either is alone.
I know people and cooks who say Better Than Bouillon is the best substitute for homemade stock and I use that. (We don't get it in France, but I bring jars back from the States.) It's pretty good but not the same as homemade stock. Another good swapout for stock is to soak some dried mushrooms in hot water and use that liquid. It's very flavorful, natural, and easy.
As a mother of two boys and a husband who traveled a lot with his business, I worked 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and still managed to cook dinner every night. I think I was able to do that first because I liked to cook and found it relaxing at the end of the day, but because I knew what ingredients I had on hand and thought about what I could make with them before I got home. So when I hear working mothers say the don't have time to make dinner, I suggest having a plan. Of course, there were other household chores I didn't do in a timely manner...
I like to keep the fridge full of all kinds of items for preparing meals. That way, I feel I can pretty much cook whatever I want. Or make adjustments.
Yesterday I went to the market to get a few things for dinner and I ended up going to two different produce stores, the bakery, two butcher shops, and had a long chat with the guy at the coffee shop. So that basically took half a day - so I think you're idea of having a plan is a good idea : )
OMG you sound just like me! Maybe in France you have to go to multiple places because they are specialized (butcher, baker, fish monger), but for me, I end up doing that because I want the best of any particular thing. I like the meat at this store, but their produce is meh. This place has the Scottish smoked salmon I prefer and the other store carries a different kind, not as good. And on and on. And I constantly get into conversations in the grocery stores, either with people who work there or other customers about this or that. 😆 I really enjoy talking food with people.
My daughter lives in Singapore and, naturally, hhas a “helper” who does all the cooking. They write up the menus for a month, with some having an asterisk to be frozen when the unexpected happens.
That looks fantastic and reminds me we haven't yet been to Morocco. Also, thank you for saying cooking is a full-time job. That makes me feel less guilty for not being a cook!
I made this last night and it was delicious! I thought that whole dried apricots might be too much but they were perfect. My marinade also did not yield any juice so I appreciated the chicken broth addition which was easy to make from the backs and wings of the whole chickens used to make the tagine. Thanks for the tweaks and the recipe.
I’ve started adding a tablespoon or two of white miso to soups to give them a more complex flavor since I rely on Better than Bouillon for soup broth (my tiny apartment fridge can’t fit leftover carcasses and veggie remainders in order to make my own). I also keep a jar of the Umami sea salt from Oaktown Spices handy (a bit pricey, but a little bit goes a long way, and it’s so worth it flavor wise) which has dried mushroom mixed in as an alternative to miso depending on my mood or what I’m making.
I'm looking forward to trying this chicken tagine recipe. I will make it in my Le Creseut Dutch oven as I don't have a tagine. I will also check out the lamb tagine in your My Paris Kitchen book that I have. I just made a pork loin with butternut squash and apples and the flavours in this dish are similar -- we loved the pork. I really can't identify with the "no time to cook" claim as I find that I can cook a weekly dinner faster than waiting for a frozen meal or take out. I love to cook and find the whole process meditative. Even when I was getting home at 7 PM, I was thinking what I would make for dinner on my way home. However, I didn't have kids but an appreciative husband who enjoyed everything that I made for him, so this makes a difference. I wanted to add that I have Daniel Holzman's The Meatball Shop Cookbook and it's great. For many years I made the Swedish Meatballs and Mushroom Gravy from this book as an addition to my turkey dinner at Christmas and it was always a huge it.
When I was a working mom (2 kids and a child-like husband), I often joked about cheerios parmesan for dinner.
I always called my cooking in those days "survival cooking". But we always had home made meals. And usually a pot of on-going soup.
Now, with all grown and gone and no job, I can kitchen fiddle to my delight. And your newsletter, books and recipes help with that.
As someone who is planning to retire to Europe in the next seven years or so, France is near the top of the list, I’m surprised to hear that boxed stock is not available there. I’m already gearing up for the myriad of other things expats there miss, like ranch dressing, tacos or any Mexican food. But boxed stock hadn’t crossed my mind.
A lot of people (Americans) move to France and are surprised there's no boxed stock, although now there are two brands (one made my Maggi), and the frozen food chain Picard sells "pellets" of frozen concentrated stock, although they're not very good, imho.
Fortunately we have much better access to Mexican ingredients here and there are a few shops that sell foods from Mexico, and you can even get corn tortillas! : )
Good to hear about the Mexican ingredients. Probably more by the time we would move 😊
Could this dish in any way be related to Chicken Marbella?????
It's probably the other way around ; ) Many cultures have been doing roasted/braised meats with fruit, including those in North Africa, the Middle East, and in Persian & Arabic countries. Chicken Marbella has capers, which was a brilliant touch by the Silver Palate folks, although I've never made it - but always wanted to.
My all-purpose advice when people say, “I don’t have time to cook” is “make doubles.” I very rarely cook one meal of something. I cook additional portions. For instance, last night, I made salmon croquettes with Goan spiced rice. I ate half and now I have a meal waiting for me. I don’t have to eat it the very next day, but having something waiting relieves the stress of coming up with new ideas all the time. (Okay, I know people would say, “You’ve invented leftovers” but viewing it as a second meal works better for me.)
I try to make doubles, and my husband (and especially my father-in-law who visits often and for long periods of time) just adjust their portions accordingly so all that extra work (extra food to lug home from the store on my bike, extra chopping) just comes to nothing. Plus I have a 7yr old boy who will soon be eating twice his weight in food, so I’m really in for it. Send help. :)
I sometimes see "cooking for one" cookbooks, but when I lived alone, I always made regular-sized portions of food and ate the rest of next day or so. It means you've already got your next dinner (or lunch) waiting!
Looks fabulous
It sound wonderful -- but I was particularly taken with the part where the original recipe said to let the chicken sit in the refrigerator until the marinade begins to boil. That might be a very long time.
I think I didn't quite explain their process vs. mine well enough so I edited it, but their method replied on the chicken pieces and onions yielding enough juice to come to a boil. Mine didn't, so I added liquid as I usually do when I make a tagine. I edited the text a little so it's clearer.
This sounds terrific..and I just happen to have the ingredients all on hand, so yay!!
When I worked full time and raised a family, I shopped once a week and basically made sure my pantry had all the items to make quick meals like pasta puttanesca, or sesame noodles, or a simple flank steak with a quick ginger marinade. As long as I kept fresh greens in the fridge for salad, dinner was pretty much a breeze. It did help that everyone had to pitch in setting the table, making the salad dressing, feeding the dog (well, he got fed first! ; ) etc. but if you are organized and resolve not to make complicated meals, it isn’t too difficult.
I also did intensive food planning before a weekly 8-bag foray to the grocery store once a week.
My kids were, thankfully, up for almost all kinds of cuisines from around the world and Pierre Franey’s 60-Minute Gourmet cookbook was a godsend, along with, a bit later, Fast Food My Way, by Jacques Pepin.
Takeout was not an option; there was none under a 40-minute drive away. My mom was such a stellar performer in the kitchen that the limited frozen offerings in the grocery store in those days were not something I would have served without guilt.
That being said, when my spouse and I went out, leaving the kids with a babysitter, the kids were overjoyed at getting little aluminum containers of Stouffers Turkey Tetrazzine. And I was so happy to have a night free from the stove.
Looks delicious. I would love to eat if someone else made it. Too many ingredients for me!😂
When I don't have homemade chicken broth available I have begun using a mix of Knorr & LeeKumKee Chicken bullion broth. I think the LeeKumKee may have a little fat it in but the flavors of the 2 together are more rounded than either is alone.
I know people and cooks who say Better Than Bouillon is the best substitute for homemade stock and I use that. (We don't get it in France, but I bring jars back from the States.) It's pretty good but not the same as homemade stock. Another good swapout for stock is to soak some dried mushrooms in hot water and use that liquid. It's very flavorful, natural, and easy.
As a mother of two boys and a husband who traveled a lot with his business, I worked 8 hours a day, 5 days a week and still managed to cook dinner every night. I think I was able to do that first because I liked to cook and found it relaxing at the end of the day, but because I knew what ingredients I had on hand and thought about what I could make with them before I got home. So when I hear working mothers say the don't have time to make dinner, I suggest having a plan. Of course, there were other household chores I didn't do in a timely manner...
I like to keep the fridge full of all kinds of items for preparing meals. That way, I feel I can pretty much cook whatever I want. Or make adjustments.
Yesterday I went to the market to get a few things for dinner and I ended up going to two different produce stores, the bakery, two butcher shops, and had a long chat with the guy at the coffee shop. So that basically took half a day - so I think you're idea of having a plan is a good idea : )
OMG you sound just like me! Maybe in France you have to go to multiple places because they are specialized (butcher, baker, fish monger), but for me, I end up doing that because I want the best of any particular thing. I like the meat at this store, but their produce is meh. This place has the Scottish smoked salmon I prefer and the other store carries a different kind, not as good. And on and on. And I constantly get into conversations in the grocery stores, either with people who work there or other customers about this or that. 😆 I really enjoy talking food with people.
My daughter lives in Singapore and, naturally, hhas a “helper” who does all the cooking. They write up the menus for a month, with some having an asterisk to be frozen when the unexpected happens.
And Happy Valentine's Day! Not sure it's a 'thing' in France?
Oh it is definitely a “thing” here in France.
Thank you as always! I always love your stories and anecdotes that accompany even just recipes! You crack me up😆👍🏻
That looks fantastic and reminds me we haven't yet been to Morocco. Also, thank you for saying cooking is a full-time job. That makes me feel less guilty for not being a cook!