Chicken, Apricot & Chickpea Tagine

⏱ 65 min · Serves 4

A fragrant Moroccan-style tagine where golden chicken thighs simmer with sweet apricots, chickpeas and warm spices until the sauce is thick and glossy. No tagine pot needed — a heavy casserole does the job beautifully. Serve with fluffy couscous and a shower of coriander.

Per serving: 625 kcal · 45.0g protein · 45.0g carbs · 29.0g fat

Ingredients

• 800g boneless chicken thighs, halved
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large onion, finely sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 thumb ginger, grated
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• pinch of saffron threads (optional)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 150g soft dried apricots, halved
• 500ml chicken stock
• 1 strip lemon zest plus juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1 tsp honey
• 30g toasted flaked almonds
• large handful coriander, chopped
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Season the chicken well with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy casserole over medium-high heat and brown the chicken in batches, 3-4 minutes per side. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat, add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook 8 minutes until soft and golden, scraping up the browned bits.
3. Stir in the garlic and ginger for 1 minute, then all the ground spices and saffron and fry 30 seconds until fragrant.
4. Add the tomato paste and cook 1 minute, then return the chicken with the chickpeas, apricots, stock and lemon zest.
5. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook gently for 30 minutes, stirring once or twice.
6. Uncover and simmer 10-15 minutes more until the sauce clings to the chicken. Stir in the honey and lemon juice, then taste and adjust the salt.
7. Scatter with toasted almonds and coriander and serve with couscous or flatbread.