UPDATE: Our tagine winner is Erica who said if she won she’d invite her inlaws… “maybe this will win them over..;). ” With your personality we’re certain you’ve already impressed them, Erica, but we’d love to hear how they like your tagine dinner! I’m a no-nonsense cook. Don’t try to sell me a special pot if the one in my kitchen does the job just fine. That was my attitude before testing the Le Creuset tagine a few weeks ago. Did I really need a tagine when my Le Creuset Dutch oven made perfectly good stew? Without a side-by-side test, how would I know? I started by looking for a simple recipe with readily available ingredients that would appeal to regular home cooks and would best test the tagine. I settled on Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds from Epicurious, subbing in boneless, skinless chicken thighs for chicken parts. I made two identical stews—one in my well-loved 5 1/2 quart Le Creuset Dutch oven of twenty years, the other in the Le Creuset tagine. The shiny new pot naturally captured my interest more during the cooking process. Yes, I could remove the lid without a potholder. Yes, the cone-shaped lid did seem to promote the return of all the condensation to the stew. Still, both stews simmered away happily, fragrantly. There appeared to be very little difference between them. 
As an aside, there were two steps I loved in this recipe. One was the use of whole herbs. At first the practical cook in me questioned whether a bouquet garni of cilantro and parsley sprigs would really flavor the dish. Why not just throw in a handful of chopped fresh at the end? And then there was the separate step of stewing apricots with cinnamon sticks, honey, and water. Wouldn’t adding the apricots directly into the stew along with little ground cinnamon be just as good? In fact, the bouquet garni flavored the stew subtly but beautifully and stewing the apricots separately with cinnamon sticks rather than tossing them directly into the stew was far superior. 
Thirty minutes later, it was time to taste. Without a comparison, I would have thought chicken tagine cooked in the Dutch oven was perfectly fine. The chicken thighs were tender, the spices bold, the juices flavorful. But there was complete agreement among all the tasters that the chicken cooked in the tagine was even more tender, the juices richer, and the spices more integrated. Is the tagine my new go-to pot? Not exclusively. In the future I’ll continue to use my beloved Dutch oven for big pots of traditional stew, but when I want to make a small exquisitely flavored spicy stew, I’ll reaching for the new “other pot” in my kitchen. 
Thanks to Le Creuset, we’re doing a tagine giveaway. Just tell us who you’d invite for dinner at your next tagine dinner! Be creative—your guest(s) could be fantasy, fictional, family, or friend. I was about to say I’d invite George Clooney and Meryl Streep, but since it was the anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death a few days ago, I’d like for him to see just how much progress we’ve made and how much American cuisine has evolved. Contest ends at 9 PM on Sunday, April 29th. We’ll announce the winner the next morning.
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 2 2-inch pieces cinnamon stick
- ¾ cup dried Turkish apricots, separated into halves
- 1½ teaspoons each: ground cinnamon and ginger
- ¾ teaspoon each: turmeric and ground black pepper
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus extra for seasoning
- 3 tablespoons, plus ¼ cup olive oil
- 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, halved
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 large red onion, halved, then sliced ¼ inch thick
- 6 garlic cloves, minced
- 5 fresh sprigs each: cilantro and flat-leaf parsley tied together with kitchen twine
- ½ cup slivered blanched almonds
- Bring honey, 1 cup water, cinnamon sticks, and apricots to a boil over medium-high heat in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, uncovered, until apricots are tender and liquid is reduced to a glaze 15 to 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, pepper, salt, and 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large bowl. Add chicken and toss to coat; set aside.
- Heat butter and another tablespoon oil in base of tagine (or deep skillet or Dutch oven) over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Working in batches to avoid overcrowding sauté chicken, turning only once, until impressively brown, 5 to 6 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
- Add onion to empty tagine and sauté until soft, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Add herb bundle to tagine along with ¾ cup water, and chicken. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer until juices are rich and chicken is tender, about 30 minutes, adding apricots the last 10 minutes of cooking.
- Heat remaining ¼ cup oil in a small skillet over medium heat; fry almonds, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain. Discard herbs and cinnamon sticks. Sprinkle chicken with almonds and serve.
Aung San Suu Kyi–my hero! And she’s finally able to leave Burma!
Wow, that recipe looks amazing!
If I could have anyone over for dinner, I would have my great Grandmother, since she was one of the most amazing people to ever walk this planet, Martin Luther King, and whoever is going to cure diabetes, so I could say thank you to all of them.
I can’t wait to try this! As for me, I would invite my 29 year old son, who has turned out to be quite a good cook and who loves to cook for me. When he was younger, he would tell me that one day he would build me a house but that it would have no kitchen, as I never cooked. (of course, I did cook but he did not always like the menu) My reply to that was, “I will just eat at your house!” ( I do give as good as I get.) Anyway, that was the past however, I would cook him a dinner in a tagine to further prove to him that yes, Mom does cook!
Well, If she were alive I would invite Janis Joplin. So I would invite Ozzy Osbourne.
My fantasy tangine dinner would include my “second mom” who passed away over a decade ago but has been on my mind a lot lately…we have lots to catch up on!
It would just be me and my husband 🙂 Mostly because he’s been on a mission and I miss him like crazy lol. But we have both been wanting a tagine from Le Creuset for a while now and I couldn’t imagine anyone else there to experience the first meal with me.
I would have Thomas Jefferson for dinner, he was a very adventurous eater.
Well, my first instinct is to invite the caretaker of tagine cooking here in America– Paula Wolfert! But having that seem like a too obvious answer my next choice would be Audrey Hepburn.
For my birthday this year (celebrated on New Year’s Eve since I’m a New Year’s Baby) I threw a Moroccan fete making all recipes from The Food of Morocco. I debated getting a tagine- but held off because of their price and my limited apartment space. I used a big pot to make two different tagines and they came out very well but I think they’d be better with something a bit more heavy walled.
So… why Ms. Hepburn? One of the things that attracts me most to Moroccan food- outside of the gentle spicing and tender meats- comes from the scene in the 1995 version of Sabrina when Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford go out in the city for Moroccan and she serves him his portion and asks that he eat with his hands because it’s so much better that way…
I think Audrey would appreciate coming over for tagine and watching the remake of her classic with me and we would finish the evening with rose tea and dessert.
I’d invite my cousin who died when we were in the 4th grade. I’d love to see the man he would have grown into 🙂
My fantasy dinner would probably include Ernest Hemingway and Julia Child. And maybe J.R.R. Tolkein and William Faulkner. And of course, my great grandmother so I could try one more time to figure out how she made her tea cakes.
Gorgeous. I love it. I also made preserved lemons recently, that are just begging to be included in a fabulous tagine.
As for me? I’d invite my best friend Kelly who lives in LA, because she loves food and I never get to see her. My husband, of course. And then I’d invite Marcus Samuelsson (because he could teach me a ton about cooking), Neko Case (she could provide after-dinner entertainment w/ her gorgeous voice) and Dr. Cornel West as I just really want to be his friend. And pick his brain.
I just got a copy of Paula Wolfert’s “Moroccan Cooking”. I’d invite my dear friends and neighbors, Robert Ford and his wife Alison and some other close friends. Bob and Alison spent time in Morocco during the Peace Corps, and later he returned to North Africa as the US Ambassador to Algeria, while Alison was a Sr. Liaison in Morocco. Robert is now the US Ambassador to Syria and has recently returned due to the violence there. They would adore an evening of the foods they have come to love.
I would have to say the fictional character “Pendergast” from Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child’s series of books. He loves awesome different foods and this is right up his alley!
I would love to make dinner for my father, who passed away when I was thirteen – along with the rest of my family. It would be a great celebration of family and food.
I would invite Lahcen Beqqi so I could learn all about Moroccan cuisine.
hmmm… 1st, thanks for the post – my thoughts are similar to yours as to the necessity. I actually looked at these as I was shopping at the Le Crueset outlet last weekend, but it seems like an expensive specialty item (that doesn’t mean I don’t want one!)
I would invite Eleanor Roosevelt. I’m a political junkie as well as a cook and I think the 1st ladies are under-appreciated. That woman probably had some good stories to tell!
Oh geez, the pressure! How shallow would I sound if I said Matt Damon? 🙂
I would love to have dinner with The Hole in the Wall Gang aka Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid aka Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Two of my favorites. 🙂
In addition to my husband, I think I’d like to have Mark Twain, Amelia Earhart, Julia Child, and George Clooney. I feel like they’d all add quite a bit to the conversation, which is good since my husband isn’t much of a talker. But he is a good eater and at least one good eater is important for every dinner party!
Emily Deschanel as her character Temperance Brennan from “Bones”. I think she’d be both an amazing and awkward supper companion, who’d steer conversations toward all sorts of crazy things. Plus she enjoys her food and drink in the show, so I know she’d appreciate an amazing meal.
Cheers,
*Heather*
I would invite my daughter and her family. We would actually share the cooking experience together as she loves to cook as much as I do. We both love to try new things! Thanks for the opportunity to enter.
I’d love to have Margaret Thatcher, Zig Ziglar, Bill O’Reilly and Dr. Oz! Interesting conversation to be had for sure!
I would invite you over, Pam. I have cooked for my family for years but after I discovered your cookbooks about 6 months ago, my cooking has really improved by leaps and bounds and I am no longer a fearful cook. Thanks Pam!!
Hm, love Le Creuset but I’m wondering how I’d store this monstrosity.
Still – I’d love to have one! We’re loving our Dutch Oven, too, just got one last year and quickly bought more for family and for our lake house. So useful!
Dinner would have to be with my daddy who died when I was only 6 years old. I am now 52.
I would love to have my grandparents and my parents over for dinner….one more time.
I can think of many, many interesting people I’d like to invite. However, now that I’m a mom, I’d like to invite to dinner my mother who passed away before I had kids. I’d like a chance to drill her with every cooking and parenting question I’ve been accruing in the last 4-5 years!
I would invite my stitch group as they are the best group of women to share recipes that are winners. Each one of them has given me a great recipe.
Oh, I would invite all my sisters and have a GIRLS NIGHT IN! None of our hubbies/boyfriends think FRUIT should be included in a meal with meat so they would have to fend for themselves for the night. Can’t wait to try this recipe.
I would invite my husband’s father – who has been dead since 1993 – he misses him so much.
My grandparents…they live across the country and I dont get to see them enough!
I would invite my Grandma. As a child growing up in her home I remember her in the kitchen all the time, she would often let me help her cook, those are some of my favorite memories. I loved waking in the morning to the smell of her homemade tomato sauce (one of many of my favorites) I could eat by the spoonful. I still don’t know what time she would actually start cooking because she was always up before anyone else. My grandma passed away eighteen years ago, when I was seventeen. I miss her something terrible. I wish I could invite her to dinner and cook her something to make her proud.
I would invite Margaret Michelle. Gone with the wind is one of my favorite books and she was an interesting person. To write such a classic book, she would enjoy a new type of dinner.
I’d invite our best friends from forever who we haven’t seen in way too long. Somehow life, kids, and chores end up filling the calendar. Thanks for the great looking recipe!
I’d have Christopher Kimball over! THAT BOW TIE.
I would invite family, nothing better than a family get together.
I would invite Marie Curie. I have been fascinated by her ever since I read her biography in grade school.
My friend, Lhanze, who grew up in India and shares her fabulous knowledge of Asian-influenced food!
I would invite my parents for a dinner, they live far away from me (Indonesia) and my Mom just had a stroke that cause her paralyzed half of her body. She used to cook for the family until the day she got the stroke. It would have been nice to cook for her now!
Thanks for the receipe and the chance on the pot!
I would invite my son, who isn’t speaking to me. Maybe it would soften his heart!
My sweet sisters! We live across the US from each other. I could really use some sister time right now.
I’d invite my grandmother and my husband’s mother, who each died too young. And then I’d have to invite both sides of the family as well, so it would turn into quite a party! Throw in Julia Child, Harriet Tubman, and Eleanor Roosevelt and call it a night.
I want to invite my parents and grandparents. I don’t get to see them enough and they don’t get to see each other enough.
I would invite Laura Ingalls Wilder. I’m sure she would be interested in the tagine as an exotic alternative to her cast iron Dutch oven!
I’d have a Mad Men party and invite Don and Megan, Pete and Trudy, and Ken and Cynthia (Cynthia!).
I would invite my honey, which would be such a treat because we are living in different countries right now and missing each other terribly. And I’d invite the whole crew from Three Many Cooks to say thank you!
Oh, and Michelle Obama, Diane Lockhart, Paulo Coehlo and Jay Z. We might need Pam to bring her tangine, too, but what a fascinating dinner that would be.
I would love to have my dad for dinner. He has been dead for 10 years and there are so many things that have happened in the world that I would love to talk to him about.
Looks lovely! I would invite my parents, because the older they and I get, the more I appreciate them!
My mom, dad and daughter, gone, but not forgotten and loved to eat! I would cook something special for them!
Reese Witherspoon – love her!
I’d invite Theresa Caputo from Long Island Medium. I’m fascinated by that show and would like to know if she has any messages for me.