Author Notes
The Big Zombie walks again: chicken with mustard. We’ve tweaked the original and amped up the mustard flavor. I call my All Clad tagine “The Big Zombie.” It’s big and it’s zombiesque. Almost the entire meal is cooked in the tagine but you will use up a lot of prep bowls. This is what happens when he escapes and stomps around the aisles of Dean & DeLuca or Surfa's. “Pardon merci, je suis le grande Zombie”. —pierino
Continue After Advertisement
Ingredients
-
2 lbs chicken thighs; leave the bones in and the skin on. Skinless, boneless chicken pieces are for sissies
-
1/2 cup
strong French mustard
-
1 carrot, diced (small)
-
1 sweet onion, diced
-
1/2 cup
luques or picholine olives (you might want to alert any guests that olive have pits and chickens have bones)
-
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
-
1/4 cup
Golden raisins (sultanas)
-
¼ cup dry white wine
-
Up to ½ cup chicken stock
-
¼ cup roasted marcona almonds roasted (see notes to cook) and chopped in a food processor
-
2 blood oranges, quartered
-
1 tsp each cumin, and turmeric
-
Aleppo pepper or hot pimenton to taste
-
2 bay leaves
-
¼ cup fruit of preserved lemons
-
8-10 radishes (halved lengthwise)
-
Sea salt and ground pepper
-
Clarified butter (ghee) or light extra virgin olive oil, say a Spanish variety.
-
For the couscous: use a quick variety which only requires a short resting time. We like M’hamsa brand.
Directions
-
Brush the chicken pieces with the spicy dijon mustard
-
In the bottom of your tagine or other heavy cooking vessel heat up the butter over a medium flame. Brown the chicken pieces without crowding them and remove to a platter while you deglaze the bottom of your tagine with the white wine.
-
Add the carrots, onions and garlic and color, adjusting heat as needed.
-
Return the chicken pieces to the tagine and season with the spices and salt and pepper, turning them a few times. Add the stock, but not enough to cover the chicken and bring it to a simmer.
-
Add in the raisins, olives and oranges followed by the chopped almonds. Cover and cook at a simmer for about 45 minutes or until the chicken is fully cooked. Be sure to taste the sauce occasionally and adjust seasoning if needed. About halfway through the cooking time remove the lid and distribute the radishes.
-
Meanwhile prepare couscous according to package directions. When the chicken is cooked thoroughly, plate up the couscous and top with chicken and sauce. We think it's nice to have harissa handy as a table condiment.
-
Notes: for the almonds; you can roast them in a sheet pan ahead with some salt so they are ready for your mise.
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.
See what other Food52ers are saying.