Artichoke Tagine

With tajine, almost everything is allowed and almost anything is possible – that is the magic of this cooking method.

You can find all the information here.

So without further ado, let’s get started:

Any kind of artichoke will do, you just need to prepare it properly as described here. It’s not easy the first time, but very rewarding – so don’t skip this step so you never miss out on the deliciousness of an artichoke again!

We bought, for two people, two quite large specimens, of which only the delicious bottoms can be prepared. Plus some mushrooms and: fresh peas. Whenever we can buy fresh peas, we cook with them.

Cut the artichoke bottoms into pieces of a pleasant size. The peas are freed from their pods. We break out the stems of the mushrooms and use them for our next vegetable broth.

Meat is always optional, but we bought two chicken legs, of course of the best farming method and quality.

If you hold the legs at both ends, the hip and the thigh, and move them a little, you can immediately feel and see where the joint is. You can then also sense it very easily with your finger. A strong knife is placed exactly in the joint and with the necessary pressure – or a blow on the back of the knife – you can cut through the joint and separate the upper and lower leg.

Sauté the chicken pieces in a little oil until golden.

We then add two finely sliced cloves of garlic and some halved olives.

Our prepared vegetables also go into the tajine mould.

Now it’s time for seasoning. We don’t want to mask the flavour of the ingredients and use nothing but ras el-hanout (“رأس الحانوت”) today. Our blend contains turmeric, coriander, allspice, cinnamon, chilli, pepper, cardamom, ginger, cumin, fennel seeds, nutmeg, star anise, orange peel, fenugreek seeds and bay leaf.

Now add the liquid. You could use water that you salt to your taste. This way you can also be sure that the salt content of your finished dish is correct in the end. We use chicken stock.

Seal the tajine and place in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for one hour.

After that, it looks like this inside:

We prepare a plate with part of the chicken, the vegetables and a little broth. If you like, a little couscous goes wonderfully with it.

Enjoy.

And may the taste be with you.

Ingredients (for two people):

Artichokes according to supply and hunger

Three to four handfuls of pea pods

Three to four handfuls of mushrooms

2 chicken legs (optional – feel free to substitute with vegetables or, say, potatoes)

2 cloves of garlic

About 10 olives

Ras el-Hanout

Salted water or stock, amount depending on your tajine and the amount of ingredients

And as always: love for the products