Healthy dinners

Chicken Tagine With Pistachios, Dried Figs, and Chickpeas Recipe

This slow-cooked chicken and chickpea tagine gets its flavor not from lots and lots of deep browning, but instead a gentle touch, a few key spices, and the natural juices of the meat and vegetables.

Ingredients

  • 1/4 cup (60ml) extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large or two medium yellow onions (about 1 pound; 450g), thinly sliced
  • 6 medium garlic cloves, smashed
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • Pinch saffron (optional)
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 whole chicken legs (about 3 pounds; 1.3kg total), split into drumsticks and thighs
  • 6 ounces (170g) dried figs (about 25 figs)
  • 1/2 cup shelled roasted pistachios (about 2 1/2 ounces; 70g)
  • 1 1/2 cups (9 ounces; 255g) cooked and drained chickpeas or one drained 15-ounce can chickpeas
  • Picked leaves of fresh herbs like mint, cilantro, and/or parsley, for garnish
  • Cooked long grain rice or couscous, for serving

Step by step

  1. In a tagine or Dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat until just shimmering. Stir in onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and saffron (if using), and season with salt.
  2. Season chicken all over with salt and pepper and nestle into the onions along with the figs and pistachios. Lower heat to medium-low, cover, and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of tagine or pot occasionally to prevent sticking and scorching, until chicken is cooked through and registers 165°F (75°C) on an instant-read thermometer, about 1 hour; lower heat at any point if the onions seem to be sticking and browning quickly (a little bit of browning is okay, but you want everything to cook gently).
  3. Transfer chicken to a serving platter, stir chickpeas into onion mixture, and continue to cook until warmed through. Season onions and chickpeas with salt, if needed. Spoon onion and chickpea mixture along with cooking juices, figs, and pistachios on top of chicken. Garnish with picked herbs and serve with warm rice or couscous. (Alternatively, you can return the chicken pieces to the tagine and serve from there.)

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