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.
Harry Potter and the entire Weasely family! I need someone to show me how to magic my house clean. Wouldn’t that be handy.
My grandpa – I miss him so!
I would invite my daughter from California – she loves to cook as much as I do!
Alebert Einstein. We’d eat great tagine and solve the problems in our current world. 🙂
I would invite Fatima Mernissi, an amazing woman who has been working for rights for Arab women for over25 years. I’d also invite Freya Stark, one of those inspiring British adventuresses of the early 20thon century.
I would love to own this tagine as I broke my dearly loved and much used one I managed to bring from Morocco years ago. Thank you for your generosity! Cant wait to try this new recipe!
I’d invite Sigmund Freud to find out just what on earth was going on in his head!
I grandmothers! They passed when I was little so it would be great to have adult conversations with them! And find out what Grandma Elaine’s secret ingredient was for her Sour cream Raisin Pie!
I would invite all of my great grandparents, in their younger selves. I have heard wonderful stories about them. Unfortunately they all had passed away before my birth.
Wouldn’t that be a fun dinner?!
Gary Allan, Toby Keith and Blake Shelton. I feed them and they sing to me. OKAY>>>>Let’s just make that Gary Allan for dinner!!!!!
I would invite my high school friend, Beth, who I have not seen in more than 30 years. My favorite memories of her are cooking together on a bike trip and using tons of garlic! She would enjoy the “tagine” experience!
I would like to have dinner with my grandparents who are no longer with us, I never got to know any of them like I should have, especially my Korean grandparents.
Thanks!
Agree completely on Abraham Lincoln. He is my all time favorite-I took a whole class on him!
I’d invite all my friends. I love to have big parties and they are fun yet alot of work. I just want everyone to have a great time and come 🙂
My daddy. I wish I could cook for him again.
My grandmother on my mom’s side. My mother was really close to her, but she passed away when I was little
I would invite Jane Austen! (Just because I love her and her company would compliment any meal). If I cooked the meal and was anxious for feedback, I would invite Anne Frank. With her limited food adventures, she would be in heaven.
I’d cook for my grandmothers- to share one more meal with them would be amazing!
Lisbeth Salander. I’m deep in the dragon tattoo books and absolutely love her. It would be weird and awkward and wonderful.
Anyone? Really? My mom, I really, really miss her.
Scarlett and Rhett.
I’d invite my favorite food bloggers. I’ve never met them but sure do enjoy their culinary creations. It would be fun to have a meal together:)
I would invite my friend Heidi who lives in Sudan and loves my tangines that I cook in my dutch oven.
hmmm, favorite old girlfriends, I think.
Charles Darwin. I’m teaching a class about him and his work this fall and it would be nice to pick his brain to help me prepare!
my dad…he always appreciated it when I cooked for him and I miss him
I would invite my former Spanish language tutor. She used to pick on me for eating sandwiches all the time because I didn’t know how to cook a real meal. Now, as an adult, I’d love to make a fancy dinner for her to enjoy!
I would love to have my parents who passed away in their 30’s when I was just a little girl…
Although I would love to dine with Abraham Lincoln, Neil Gaiman, Rosalind Franklin, or Lucille Ball, for a meal of chicken tagine with apricots and cinnamon, I would really “just” invite my husband. With a delicious, light-but-spicy meal, so conducive to romance…. who else?
I would love to have Pioneer Woman and the Marlboro man. I would definitely have her bring a dish too!
I’d love to have dinner with my late grandparents. <3
I’d invite The Pioneer Woman and Jaden Hair from Steamy Kitchen – my two favorite food bloggers!
I’d make this delicious sounding Chicken Tagine with Apricots and Almonds, and invite my friend Barbara and my mother who loves apricots and my cooking!
Walter Mondale.
Yes, seriously. One of the best classes I took in grad school was taught by his campaign manager. I’d love to see if his side of the story matches up.
Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt, Jimmy Buffett & Hillary Clinton – wouldn’t that be fun??
that recipe looks so good! i’d invite my parents and siblings. they live in europe and i miss them too much sometimes…
I would invite my future on-in-law who is originally from Yemen. I love experimenting with different ethnic dishes and trying them out with family on Sundays.
James Herriot and his wife Helen – I’ve been reading his novels again lately and I think he and Helen would be wonderful to get to know
I would be so pleased to invite the talented and witty Charlaine Harris of Sookie Stackhouse-Southern Vampire Mystery fame. I’d make a spicy creole fusion tagine and spend a summer evening sipping iced tea and telling ghost stories surrounded by flitting fireflies.
I’d invite all of my best girlfriends so we could eat and drink and enjoy each other for a night!
I would have my mom and dad for dinner. Sadly, my dad died very suddenly and unexpectedly while visiting me, in my home, of a brain aneurism. I never got to say goodbye, it was so quick. My mom is still with us, but more often than not she is in her own closed off world. So that would be my choice, to have my folks for one last meal
My family all the way from Japan. I haven’t seen many of them for over 1 year…
I would invite my oldest daughter, her fiance, and my brand new granddaughter. Hands down. I miss them so much…
Jane Smiley, Denise Levertov and Elizabeth Gilbert to eat lovely tangine and discuss the creative genius of women, from food to words to childrearing, and everything in between.
I would love to have my brother and his wife for dinner. They both love to cook and try new recipes.
I would invite my dad – he was always game to try something new
I would invite Suzanne Collins, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark. I would try to recreate the favorite lamb stew from the books. Just thinking about how tender the lamb would be in a tagine is making my mouth water!
I would love to cook and eat with my long time friend, Anna. She moved away and we have not shared a meal in 10 yrs!
I would love to have dinner with Anthony Bourdain!
My two sisters who both just had a baby.
I would invite my parents and my siblings. It’s been a few years since we were all able to sit around the same table together.