Medicinal COOKING

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Tagine

This recipe requires overnight marination of the chicken thighs to tenderise them and maximise their flavour. It’s the perfect family dinner: bursting with taste and quick and easy to prepare.

Rachel Graham is a nutritional therapist and medicinal chef with more than 25 years of experience. She works predominantly in women’s health with an emphasis on menopause. Her new cookbook, The Menopause Kitchen, is a manual for how to nourish your body during midlife. The colourful, nutrient-rich cuisine can help mitigate your symptoms during peri-menopause and menopause. Happy days!

Serves 4+

INGREDIENTS

Marinade

• 1 tsp ground ginger

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• Black pepper

• Grated zest of 1 lemon

• 50ml olive oil Tagine

• 800g chicken thighs, skinless and boneless

• 2tbsp olive oil

• 3 red onions, finely chopped

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced

• 800ml chicken stock

• 1 cinnamon stick

• 400g tinned peeled chopped tomatoes

• 60g raisins

• 400g tinned chickpeas, drained

• 1 tsp Ras el hanout

• 3-4 star anise

• 2 tbsp honey

• 1 tsp harissa paste

• 1 cup dried red lentils

• Pink Himalayan salt and ground black pepper, to taste To serve

• Moroccan quinoa or wholegrain brown basmati rice

• Large handful of coriander leaves, chopped

• Handful of flaked almonds, toasted

METHOD

1 Combine all the marinade ingredients in a large glass food storage container and mix well.

2 Add the chicken thighs to the container and coat them well with the marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

3 The next day, preheat the oven to 180°C.

4 Put the olive oil, onion and garlic in a heavy-based, ovenproof saucepan, and cook with the lid on, on a medium heat, until soft.

5 Add the chicken stock and stir to loosen any sediment from the bottom.

6 Add the chicken pieces to the pan, along with the cinnamon stick. Season with salt and pepper.

7 Add the tinned tomatoes, raisins, chickpeas, Ras el hanout, star anise, honey, harissa paste and red lentils. Cook for 1.5 hours in the oven with the lid on, until the chicken is tender and the sauce has thickened.

8 Serve with Moroccan quinoa or wholegrain brown basmati rice, topped with coriander and toasted flaked almonds.