Savor the exotic flavors of Chicken Tagine

Throughout my years of traveling in Morocco and Spain, I have collected several clay tagine pots and until last week, occasionally used them for special occasions.

A few days ago, I found the most amazing store, Bram, in Sonoma, filled with rustic hand-painted clay pots, all designed and made in Egypt. Among the collection stood out a line of tagines in different sizes and colors. Feeling quite inspired, I decided to purchase some tagines and develop a new recipe.

Originally, the North African tagine dish is composed of two units that fit into each other. The base is round with low sides, and the top is a cone-shaped cover that fits over the glazed base. The clay pot is mainly designed for slow cooking stews at very low temperatures.

Often the spices used for tagine dishes are cinnamon, nutmeg, curry, ginger, coriander and cumin, but you may use any herbs you desire. Olives, preserved lemons and a large array of dried fruits — dates, figs, apricots, raisins and prunes — make a great combination. You may prepare this dish using lamb, beef or any kind of poultry.

At Café Collage, I will be serving Chicken Tagine for the next few weeks.

CHICKEN TAGINE

8 medium-size chicken thighs (bone in)

1 tablespoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon Greek oregano

1 tablespoon herbs de Provence

2 tablespoons olive oil

3 preserved Meyer lemons, cut in half, see cook's notes

1 cup dried prunes

1 cup kalamata olives (ideally a mixture of green and black)

1⁄2 cup fresh orange juice

1⁄2 cup local honey

Cook's notes: How to preserve Meyer lemons: Make a cut on the side of 10 to 20 small whole Meyer lemons. Insert 1 teaspoon of sea salt in the slit. Pack the lemons tightly into a large sterilized jar. Fill the jar halfway with sea salt, water and any desired herbs and spices. Cover the contents in the jar with a mixture of 1 cup lemon juice, 1⁄3 cup extra-virgin olive oil and water. Cover the jar with a lid and store for two to four weeks, shaking the jar daily. The lemons can be preserved up to one year and used to add flavor to stews and sauces. Wash away the surface salt before using the lemons.

Preparation

To make this dish, it is not necessary to use a clay tagine pot if you do not have one. I use two steps to cook the chicken. First, brown the skin side of the chicken thighs in a nonstick pan. Rub the chicken with salt, coriander, oregano and herbs de Provence.

Heat the oil over medium heat and sauté the chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin gets crusty. Transfer the chicken to the tagine or any other cooking pot. Discard the liquid fat left in the frying pan.

Add the lemons, prunes, olives and orange juice.

Cook for 15 minutes; add the honey and simmer, covered, for 70 minutes. If using a clay pot tagine, you need to move the cone cover a bit to create a tiny opening for evaporation; otherwise, the excess liquid will leak out.

At the end of the cooking, the sauce will turn into a beautiful thick glaze. If using a clay pot, remove the top and set it aside to cool.

This dish is often served family style. An ideal accompaniment is a flavored couscous or rice pilaf.

Salim Ben Mami is head chef and owner of Café Collage restaurant in Oregon House, Calif. Contact him at 530-692-2555 or ccollage@succeed.net. His website is cafecollage.net.