Oh my goodness where has the summer gone? My last blog post seems like eons ago ( July 9th to be exact ... which I think makes it Officially Eons Ago.) Tomorrow is September 1st. The temperature is going down to 5 C overnight but more importantly it will FEEL like 2 C. It's getting dark at 8 pm (and I know this as I was biking home tonight at 8:15 pm feeling a tad terrified that I was going to be wiped out by a car. Yes of course I had my blinking lights on- safety first! But it's still scary.) I'm reminded of this post I saw on Facebook a few weeks back because it's true, us Canadians are so predictable this way:
So yes, the summer has flown by yet again like it does every year here I'm sure in no part due to the crappy rainy weather we've been experiencing basically all summer long. I will not dwell on this too much as I know parts of Canada that are typically cool and rainy have been experiencing devastating forest fires. And that's no joke. Even though climate change is all a hoax started by the Chinese (said with much much sarcasm.) Don't get me started on that. Holy Moly. The world is truly topsy turvy and all out of sorts at the moment.
Which I can totally segue in to a blog on yummy comfort food (I know! It is a stretch but just trust me here.) My lovely sous chef spoiled me this past June 29th, the anniversary of my birth, (mark it on your calendars for next year) with a totally exquisite, over the top, gorgeous, beautiful, stunning Emile Henry Tagine (see here for my previous blog on the wonderful Tajine/Tagine). Wow. It really is a thing of beauty. We have it on display on our kitchen table to impress all that visit us...which is basically no one but whatever we think it's pretty. Thankfully not only do you get a good looking cooking vessel (and table ornament) when you purchase an Emile Henry Tajine, but you also get a handy dandy instruction/recipe booklet which is nice and quite intelligent on their part when you consider the price (which it is totally worth, don't get my wrong.) The recipe I tested out first has become one of my (our) favourites. I have thrown in different veggies each time, depending on what I had in the fridge and what needed to be used up. My favourite additions have been mushrooms, mini potatoes, and turnips. I have remained true with the olives, carrots and peppers. The olives are definitely a staple for us and have started making their way into other dishes here at Bistro 164 thanks mostly to this recipe. Love my olives. Everything remains so juicy in the tajine and the flavours oh my god the flavours. They just seem to be intensified in the tajine even though there really are only 2 different spices used, turmeric and ginger. It still boggles my mind. So don't think about it too much. Just create, cook and enjoy. Total comfort food when the world feels like a cold wet upside down place.
Get your Tagine (or Tajine?) on. Cheers from Bistro 164!
Chicken Tagine with Lemon, Honey, Olives and Vegetables
from an Emile Henry recipe
Serves 6-8
Prep time: 20 minutes or so
Cooking time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Ingredients
5 chicken thighs and 2 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces
3 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp powdered ginger
3 onions, chopped
1x 28 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 tbsp honey
the juice from 1 lemon
1-2 cups of green olives
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
2 yellow peppers cut into large slices
a few sprigs of coriander
salt and pepper
Directions
Place the tagine on medium heat on your stove top. Add in the olive oil and then the onions. Saute until the onions are translucent. Add in the garlic, the spices, the tomatoes, and honey. Simmer for a few minutes. Add in the chicken, mix well, add in the lemon juice and salt and pepper. Shape the chicken into a pyramid in the centre of the tagine and arrange the vegetables and olives around it "harmoniously" (this is how it is described in the Emile Henry booklet...just love the image of "harmonious" food!)
Check the seasoning, cover and cook for 1 to 1 1/4 hours in the oven at 350 F.
Once done, sprinkle the fresh coriander on top and serve. Cheers!
You left out the preserved lemons! Best part and strongest flavor note!
ReplyDeleteI would have loved to have added them but couldn't find them anywhere back in 2017 in my city. I've since moved and have found them in a small store in Cheticamp Cape Breton of all places. Will definitely have to try it now with preserved lemons...they are expensive here but what the heck ;-)
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