Recipe: Chicken tagine with rose harissa

Recipe: Chicken tagine with rose harissa

40m prep | 45-60m cook

Last updated

Few recipes are as exciting as a well-made tagine.

This beautiful oven-to-table dish, named after the stoneware vessel in which it’s cooked, combines the fatty richness of chicken, the spice and aroma of rose harissa, the bitter sourness of preserved lemons, the saltiness of olives and the sweet tartness of green raisins resulting in the perfect centrepiece to a Middle Eastern feast.

Cure your terracotta and other oven-to-table stoneware dishes by soaking them in water for 24 hours before use. When cooking, start in a cold oven and bring up to temperature slowly. Allow the dish to cool before washing with a soft cloth, avoiding harsh scourers that can damage the glaze.

Graupera have been producing traditional ceramic cookware in Spain for over 60 years, combining clay and water in elegant forms and striking natural colours.


Ingredients (Serves 4)

  • 1 whole chicken, broken down into 8 parts
  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 brown onion, finely sliced
  • 2 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp The Essential Ingredient Tagine Spice Mix
  • 2 tbsp The Essential Ingredient Rose Harissa
  • 500mL chicken stock
  • 1/4 cup green raisins
  • 1 tbsp finely sliced preserved lemon rind, flesh and pith discarded
  • 1 capsicum, finely sliced
  • A handful of green olives
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 tbsp natural yoghurt
  • Coriander leaves to serve
  • Pomegranate seeds to serve

If using a tagine, soak the dish for 24 hours before use, then place in a cold oven and set the temperature to 160C. When the oven has reached temperature, carefully move the dish to the stovetop and continue with recipe below.

If using a solid cast iron pot, preheat your oven to 160C, and begin with your pot on the stovetop.

Add the oil to your pan and warm over a medium-high heat until shimmering.

Add the chicken, and fry on all sides until golden brown. Transfer the chicken to a plate, lower the heat and add the onion to the pan (add a little extra oil to loosen the brown chicken scraps left on the bottom of the pan if needed). Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are brown and translucent.

Add the garlic and Tagine Spice Mix, and stir until the spices are coating the onions and fragrant. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the rose harissa, and cook until sizzling.

Return the chicken to the pan, then add the stock, olives, capsicum, green raisins and preserved lemon. Bring to a simmer, then cover with the lid and transfer to the hot oven.

Cook for 45 minutes, or until the chicken begins to fall away from the bone. Season with salt to taste.

If cooked in a cast iron pot, transfer the contents carefully to a serving dish. If using a tagine, simply serve directly in the cooking dish.

Top with yoghurt, dress with coriander leaves and pomegranate seeds and serve with couscous, rice, chickpeas or flatbread.

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