Chicken tagine with dates

The inspiration for this dish with its spicy flavours, sweet dried fruit and honey comes from Morocco. The secret ingredient? Bitter coffee.

Makes 4 generous servings Preparation time: 25 minutes, plus marinating time Cooking time: 1 hour, 20 minutes Oven temperature: 180°C

• 8 chicken pieces (drumsticks and thighs)

• 10ml ground cumin

• 10ml ground coriander

• 2cm fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• 2cm fresh turmeric, peeled and grated (or 5ml turmeric powder)

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 1 star anise

• 5ml smoked paprika

• 2ml nutmeg

• 2 red chillies, chopped

• a strip of orange peel

• 250ml quality filter coffee

• 15ml olive oil

• 2 large onions

• 3 cloves garlic

• 125ml dates, pitted and chopped

• 30ml honey

• 100g blanched almonds, toasted and coarsely chopped

• 1 bunch fresh coriander

• couscous, to serve

1 Place the chicken and the seasoning – spices, chilli and orange peel – in a glass or plastic bowl and rub the chicken well with it. Pour the coffee over and leave to marinate overnight.

2 Preheat the oven. Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Using an ovenproof pan with a lid, fry the chicken in the oil until fragrant and golden brown on all sides. Stir in the onion, garlic, dates, honey and almonds. Finely chop the coriander stalks (keep the leaves for garnishing) and stir in, along with the reserved marinade. Season with salt and pepper, cover and bake in the oven for 1 hour.

3 Serve with couscous and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Coffee grounds can be used as a rub for almost any type of meat. Just like red wine, coffee is acidic. It’s those acidic tones of coffee that pair well with the savoury tones of meat. – theroasterie.com