Easy Crock Pot Moroccan Chicken, Chickpea and Apricot Tagine
This is one of my family's favourite recipes; I am constantly asked all the time to make it. I was taught it by a Moroccan friend who also lives in France - it is an old family recipe passed down for many years. It is great all year around - served with flat breads or pitta breads & assorted salads in spring & summer or served with hot fluffy & fruity couscous, assorted chutneys or pickles in the depths of winter. I make mine in a fantastic "Electric Tagine" made by Tefal; it of course works in a more traditional clay tagine - BUT the real secret is.......it works like a dream in a Slow cooker/Crock Pot. Try it out! If you cannot get Ras-el-Hanout, which is an exotic Moroccan spice mixture, including rose petals - don't worry, use the other spices I have listed instead; or I have a Ras-el-Hanout recipe posted on Recipezaar: Recipe #205185
N.B. I notice in a review that it has been suggested that Chemical Heat is needed!! The great thing about sharing recipes is that they can be adapted to personal taste. BUT, this is not supposed to be a "Hot" recipe, but a "Fragrant & Fruity" recipe!! A Tagine by definition is SLOW cooked over a LOW heat & is very fruity with subtle undertones of heat! However, life would be boring if you couldn't add a bit of "heat", but it's just not traditional. What is traditional, is to allow your guests to add their own heat, so have a bowl of "Harissa" on the table. Preserved lemons are also a wonderful and traditional addition - I have a recipe posted on Recipezaar: Recipe #209590 PLEASE NOTE: This recipe lists canned chickpeas in the ingredients, NOT dried! If you use dried chickpeas, you MUST soak them and cook them first!
Reviews
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This was so good, that I paid myself twenty dollars plus a tip for this entree and asked to see the dessert menu. I do not own a crock pot so I cooked this in my oven at 275 for 2 hours then turned it up to 400 for another 30 minutes to kill any bacteria. I used the exact ingredients listed and it was plenty spicy for me. -
I have had this recipe in my cookbook forever and my husband finally made it yesterday. It was absolutely amazing! We made a few mods based on our tastes and what we had on hand - we used 2lbs of cut up boneless skinless chicken thighs (browned first), one large onion, 2 tbsp flour, 1 can each of drained chickpeas and diced tomatoes, 1tbsp honey, and about 2 cups of homemade stock. We forgot the saffron but will remember the next time. The apricots were large so we tore them in half but it wasn't really necessary. Cooked on high for just under 3.5 hrs. The chicken was tender, the sauce perfect - not too runny or too thick. No extra salt needed. He served it with mixed veg couscous and the meal was simply sublime. Oh, and I just realized he forgot the cilantro! We didn't miss it though, it's great as is. Thank you for a terrific recipe, French Tart.
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Made this last night. We enjoyed it but it wasn't 5 stars. I thought it came out a bit too soupy. Next time i will only add 1 can of diced tomatoes. Also I will cut back to 2 tablespoons for the honey. We don't like tons of heat so I cut the Cayenne back to 1/2 tsp, which could account why it was too sweet for us.
Thank you for a great recipe. -
This is the best thing I have ever made in the slow cooker! Has helped to restore my faith that there is a way to have a tasty and nutritious meal waiting for my family after work. So many other recipes turn out bland, but not this one! I used bone in thighs, prepared the sauce mixture and precooked dried chick peas the night before. I made the Ras-El-Hanout, but upped the amount slightly as we like spicy food, some of my dried spices were a little old, and as mentioned above - we have had bad luck with bland food coming out of the slow cooker before. Nestled the chicken in the sauce mixture to marinate overnight in the fridge. Cooked for 6 hours on low and then kept it warm until we were ready to eat. Yum!
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This wonderful dish is good anytime of the year. I made the tagine on the stove top and slowly simmered it for three hours. I was afraid the boneless/skinless chicken breasts would be dried out but they were moist and so tender I could cut it with my spoon. Served with plain couscous. Thanks for another great recipe.
