Chicken & Chickpea Tagine

Ingredients

• 1000 g bone-in chicken thighs, skin removed
• 300 ml chicken stock
• 2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 large onions, sliced into half-moons
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ras el hanout
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 100 g dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 2 preserved lemon quarters, flesh discarded, skin finely sliced
• 15 g mint leaves, torn
• Fine salt and black pepper
• 15 g coriander leaves
• 60 g toasted flaked almonds
• 300 g cooked couscous

Method

1. Pat the chicken thighs dry. Season generously with salt, pepper, and half the ras el hanout, working it into every surface.
2. Heat the olive oil in a large heavy casserole over a high heat until it shimmers. Brown the chicken in two batches, skin-side down first, 3 minutes per side until deep mahogany. Don't crowd the pan; pile it in all at once and the meat steams in its own juices instead of building that fond on the base. Lift out and set aside.
3. Turn the heat down to medium and tip in the sliced onions with a good pinch of salt. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft and lightly caramelised; the salt pulls moisture out and helps them lift the browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
4. Add the garlic and ginger and stir for 30 seconds, just until fragrant; no more. Tip in the rest of the ras el hanout, the cumin, ground coriander, cinnamon and turmeric, and fry them in the oil for another 60 seconds until fragrant and darkened a shade.
5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and chicken stock. Stir well and bring to a steady simmer.
6. Nestle the browned thighs back in with any resting juices, bring to a steady simmer, then cover and cook gently for 20 minutes.
7. Add the chickpeas, halved apricots and sliced preserved lemons. Stir gently, re-cover, and cook for a further 20 minutes until the chicken is falling from the bone and the sauce has reduced to a glossy, spoon-coating consistency.
8. Lift the chicken out, shred the meat from the bones with two forks, and return it to the pan. Stir in the honey. Taste; you're after a proper balance of warmth from the spice, sweetness from the apricots, and salty-sour lift from the preserved lemon.
9. Spoon the tagine into deep bowls over the couscous. Scatter over the chopped coriander, torn mint and toasted flaked almonds, and serve straight away.