Chicken and Lemon Tagine

Ingredients

1 tablespoon oil

3 large chicken breasts cut into large pieces

1 onion, slices

2 fat cloves garlic, minced

2 rounded teaspoons ginger (julienne)

300ml hot water

1 stock pot (concentrated stock)

dried mixed herbs

3 large carrots, cut into chunks

3 large potatoes, cut into chunks

1 large lemon, cut into wedges (1/8ths)

broccoli or olives

Method

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Sear the chicken in the oil for about 5 minutes, flip and sear the other side. Saute the onion. Put the chicken and onion in the tagine.

Sear the carrot and potatoes for a few minutes. Whilst they are cooking, distribute the garlic, ginger and dried herbs evenly over the chicken. Add the carrots and potatoes to the tagine. Arrange the lemon around the dish.

Use the hot water to deglaze the skillet, and then mix through the concentrated stock. Pour this into the tagine.

Put the lid on the tagine and cook at 200C for an hour.

In the last 10 minutes of cooking, add florets of broccoli to the top of the dish. It will cook in the steam. Or, if preferred, add a handful of olives and mix through.

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This meal is very popular amongst my family. It also freezes beautifully.

The stock transforms into a very thin gravy. This is perfect with the potatoes. Press on the potatoes to mash them slightly. The potatoes then soak up the gravy.

The flesh of the lemon disappears into the gravy, leaving the rind. It is beautifully mild and fragrant; eat a little of it with each mouthful.