Chicken Tagine w. Dates and Orange Blossom Water

I’m in Boston this week with N – well technically Cambridge. No cooking for me this week b/c we’re out of town – and while it’s nice to get a break – I definitely am looking forward to getting home and making some new delicious stuff! I’ve had a lot of time to play on the internet here and have found so many interesting recipes I want to play with!

So while I’m here I’m going to share a recipe that I made a few weeks ago. This recipe is fabulous. The flavors are a combination of sweet, spicy, and savory – which it turns out is pretty amazing. This is another one of those great recipes that you throw everything together, cover, and voila – delicious meal ready in an hour! This is a meal that I would make on a Sunday – just because it needs an hour and most of the times during the week I get home from work and am starving so need to make something quick!

First things first….here’s what you’ll need: chicken thighs (boneless skinless chicken thighs can be substituted to save on fat but not skimp on flavor), pitted dates, honey, orange blossom water (I accidentally put rose water in the pic….see below to see what the orange blossom water bottle looks like), cinnamon sticks, ginger garlic paste (or 3 cloves garlic, 1 inch of peeled/grated ginger), cayenne pepper, and salt and pepper.

The first step is to salt and pepper the chicken thighs – I used about 1.5 teaspoons and ½ teaspoon pepper for the top and bottom of the chicken. Place chicken thighs, skin side down, into a large pan and sear the heck out of the skin.

Note: make sure you use a pan with high sides – we’re going to be braising the chicken thighs in the same pan and you want to make sure the pan is large enough to fit all the ingredients. I am using a Rachael Ray pan – it comes with a great lid as well which is perfect for this dish. Also note: I didn’t use any additional oil in this dish. By searing the chicken skin in the pan – a lot of oil is released from the chicken thighs naturally – so no need for oil when browning the chicken.

I have just recently mastered the art (or not mastered…but you know what I mean) of browning. I used to be too impatient during the browning process and continually check on the protein or whatever it is – and flip them over and rearrange – I’ve learned that the trick to a good sear on chicken or meat is to just LEAVE IT ALONE! Simple enough. To leave the chicken alone and not mess with it takes a little bit of will power. But look at that gorgeous rendered chicken skin. It’s beautiful and crispy and brown. So that’s the trick – put the chicken in a hot pan and leave it alone for a good 4-5 minutes. Then flip over and repeat for the underside of the thighs.

Ok – now while the chicken is browning – busy yourself with chopping the dates. I bought these pitted dates – they aren’t the best quality and aren’t great for eating as they are b/c they are dry – but they are just fine for this dish. I cut the pieces into 3 or 4 smaller pieces per date. The size of the dates don’t have to be uniform – they melt away in the cooking process leaving the dish sweet and savory!

After you have chopped the dates it gets pretty easy from there. Flip the chicken over again in your pan so the skin is facing up. If there is a lot of extra fat in your pan drain the fat out so you have 1 teaspoon remaining. Add water to about half way up the chicken thighs. I think (I don’t remember exactly) that I used about a cup and a half of water.

Note: be careful when adding the water – you don’t want to slosh the water on the chicken skin. You just did a wonderful job browning your skin – you don’t want to mess it up by pouring water over it.

Alright – water is added – now add the chopped up dates, honey, cinnamon sticks, and cayenne pepper. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and allow the chicken to braise over medium heat for a half hour. Check on the dish every 10 minutes to make sure there is still enough water in the pan – if the dish is cooking over too high of heat, adjust and add more water. You don’t want a very saucy dish – but you definitely want some gravy to eat with couscous and bread.

After a half hour add in 1 tablespoon of orange blossom water. The orange blossom water smells more flowery than orangey though. It’s interesting. If you like floral accents – this is the ingredient for you. If you can’t find at your local Arabic store, buy it here.

After you add the orange blossom water stir that pan around and get everything mixed then cover again for 10 more minutes. Taste the gravy for seasoning – if it needs more salt and pepper add now. After ten minutes check your chicken by poking it with a fork or knife – it will be tender….that’s when you know it’s done. The date gravy should have reduced by about half or two thirds – which is just fine.

I made cilantro/lemon zest couscous to accompany this chicken. I seriously love this dish. Just make the couscous per box instructions and then add 1/4 c. chopped cilantro and zest/juice from 1 lemon. To eat this dish – I cut the chicken off the bone – put a layer of couscous on the bottom of the plate – top with the cut up chicken and lots of the date gravy – and put couscous and chicken on pieces of flatbread or pita – soooo good.

I hope you try this dish – it’s definitely a dish that people will remember – it sounds exotic and different – but is surprisingly easy! Enjoy!