The next in our series of recipes is one from Tunisia, brought to us by Samah Djebbi.
Back home, Sunday was always “Couscous Day with Tagine” for us. As children we’d always be helping Mama to prepare the food – peeling and chopping the vegetables and such. And you can be sure that we’d always try and pinch some of the fried diced potato … however loud Mama’s indignant protests, it was simply to delicious to resist! I often find myself thinking back on those days, and it’s always with a smile.
Sunday is Couscous Day with Tagine, no question. And it’s a childhood tradition that I carry on with my own family today.
Now it’s my two sons who lend me a hand, and they too will happily pilfer some of those scrumptious potato cubes intended for the tagine.
Tagine is a kind of hearty soufflé, which can be served as a side dish or main course with some salad. There are various ways of making it. You can prepare with tuna, minced meat, or mozzarella. The version I’m showing you today is our own personal favourite – tagine with cheese and chicken.
Ingredients:
- 8 potatoes
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1 bunch of flat-leaf parsley
- 8 eggs (size M to L)
- Salt and pepper
- Ground coriander
- Turmeric
- 200 g grated cheese, e.g. pizza cheese, Gouda or Emmental
- 1 large onion
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Oil for frying
Preparation:
Wash the potatoes and chicken, and dice into small cubes. Wash the parsley and chop finely, dice the onion. Fry the diced potatoes in a frying pan with plenty of oil, and allow to drip dry on some kitchen paper. Heat some oil in a saucepan and sauté the onions. Now add the chicken and the crushed cloves of garlic, season well with salt, pepper, coriander and turmeric, and sauté. Add a little water and simmer. Once the chicken is cooked well through (about 15 minutes), add the washed parsley and steam to leave a viscous liquid consistency at the end.
Now whisk the eggs in a bowl, then add all the remaining ingredients (chicken, potatoes and cheese), and mix everything well together. Add a little more seasoning if you like, and pour everything into a greased oven-proof dish.
Bake for around 30 min. in the oven at 180 °C, upper/lower heat on, until golden brown.
Remove from oven, allow to cool, then turn over onto a plate. Cut into pieces of the required size, and serve.
Shehia Taiba (or Bon Appetit if you like)