Chicken and Apricot Tagine

I adapted this recipe from a book I read recently called The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz.  It’s one of the few recipes in the book that’s not a dessert(which all looked fabulous too).  The book is a funny collection of stories and recipes all about the charming author’s adventures moving to Paris from San Francisco.  I have made it twice in the last two weeks, both for company.  Everyone who has tried it has really enjoyed it.  It’s not difficult once you have all the ingredients on hand.  The best part is that you can make it ahead and reheat it if you’re serving it for a dinner party.   Also, there is about an hour of “hands-off” cooking time, which is great if you have other dishes to prepare or floors to vacuum before your guests arrive!  Serves 4-6

• 4 oz. dried apricots
• 8 chicken thighs
• 1 t. ground ginger
• 1 t. ground turmeric
• 2 t. paprika or 1 t. smoked paprika
• 1/4 t. saffron
• 1 t. ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 t. Kosher salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 2 T. butter
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 C. chicken stock
• 1/3 C. fresh parsley (the original recipe called for cilantro, but my dad hates it, so I used parsley.  Do what  you want!)
• 1 T. honey
• juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 C. sliced blanched almonds, toasted

Heat a cup of water to boiling and pour it into a bowl with the apricots to plump them.  Let them sit in the water while you prepare the chicken. In a large bowl combine the ginger, turmeric,  paprika, saffron, cinnamon, salt, and pepper.  Add the chicken thighs and toss them around to coat them in the spices.  It’s easiest to do this with your hands, but if you don’t wear gloves your fingernails will be stained yellow by the turmeric for several days- which I learned the hard way.  Heat the oven to 375 degrees.  Heat the butter in a large Dutch oven and add the onions. Cook until the onions begin to soften, about three minutes.  Add the chicken and cook for about three minutes, turning the pieces to brown them.  Pour in the stock and add the parsley.  Put the lid on and put the whole pot into the oven for 50 minutes.  Take the pot out of the oven and remove the chicken to a deep serving platter, cover with foil to keep warm.  Put the Dutch oven with the sauce in it back on the stove and bring it to a boil.  Add the honey, lemon juice and the drained apricots and simmer until it reduces by about one-third.  For me this took about ten minutes.  Taste for seasoning.  Pour the sauce and apricots over the chicken in the platter.  Top with a bit more parsley or cilantro and the toasted almonds.  Serve this with something that will help absorb some sauce, like rice, couscous, or polenta.

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