Chicken and Carrot Tagine

This isn't what I'm serving for Christmas tonight, but it was on the short list, so I made it a few days ago.

I've been kind of ignoring the carrots in the garden.  They weren't growing well until it started to rain a few weeks ago.  Less than two inches of rain total, but it pushed them over the edge of "probably a good size" to "pull me already"!  I pulled one for some Summer Rolls that was nearly the size of the cucumber.

I'm basing this on the Mrouzia, with a few alterations to go with what I had in the pantry and because I wanted to serve it with Persian Rice.  For anyone who missed the primer, Tagine is just the Moroccan term for Stew.  This is super easy, just requires a bit of time for all the flavors to simmer together.

*4 chicken thighs or 2 breasts, skin-on preferred
*1 Tb "Moroccan" or Tagine spice blend
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
pinch of saffron
*1 cinnamon stick
1/2 C grated or finely diced onion
*2 ribs celery, finely diced
1 Tb olive oil
*1 lb carrots, cut in chunks
1 C pitted dates, cut in half
1 tsp honey

1.  Combine tagine spice, ginger, salt, pepper, and saffron.  Moisten chicken and rub spice blend into it.  Place in plastic bag with about 1/2 C water and marinate for at least 4 hours in the refrigerator.

2.  In a soup pot or large saucepan, sauté onion and celery in olive oil over medium until soft.  Add chicken pieces, skin side down, and the liquid in the bag.  Cook to brown the skin, turn over, and sear the bottoms a couple of minutes.  Add water to just barely cover and bring to a boil.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover the pot, and come back in an hour.

3.  Add carrot pieces, put the lid back on, and cook until the carrots soften, about 20 minutes.

4.  Remove chicken and carrots to a warm plate and crank up the heat on the pan juices.  Reduce by half.  Stir in chopped dates and honey.  Fish out the cinnamon stick.  Re-warm the stew pieces in the sauce and serve hot.

Difficulty rating :)