Chicken Tagine with Vegetables, Raisins, Lemons, and Olives

During our trip in Morocco, J and I enjoyed meals cooked in a tagine often. Each dish was always so tender and so full of flavors and scents. The other day J surprised everyone and bought a really high-quality tagine online and it was delivered yesterday. Of course, we had to try it (and it was absolutely fantastic!)
The recipe we used is modeled off of a recipe of Emeril Lagasse's found on the Food Network here. We used a little less salt, a little more veggies, and substituted allspice and nutmeg for the cardamom and lemon juice and zest the preserved lemons.
I kept saying that I hoped I could capture all the smells from the kitchen just as we were gathering and chopping all the ingredients. Seriously just amazing...I so wish I could share them with you all! I do have pictures to share, though (and had many more I originally wanted to add because the dish was just so beautiful). I tried to pick the best...enjoy!

Ingredients:

For tagine:

• 1 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1 tablespoon warm water
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8 teaspoon allspice 
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 (3 1/2 to 4 pound) roasting chicken, cut into 8 pieces (we bought drumsticks and breasts)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 sticks cinnamon
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion 
• 2 carrots peeled and sliced thin
• 1 small bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 2 cups chicken stock 
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• zest and juice of one lemon
• 1/4 cup rough chopped green olives
• 1/4 cup toasted almond slivers
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh mint 

For couscous:

• 2 cups couscous
• 2 cups vegetable broth (low sodium)
• 1 tablespoon butter 

Directions:

Combine the saffron threads and water in a small bowl and allow to steep. In another small bowl, combine the kosher salt, black pepper, cumin, allspice, and nutmeg. Mix well, and season the chicken pieces on both sides with the spice blend.

Set the tagine over medium-high heat and add the olive oil. When the oil is hot, add half of the chicken pieces, skin side down, and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and set aside while you cook the remaining chicken pieces. Remove and set aside.
Add the cinnamon sticks and bay leaves to the tagine and cook, stirring, for 20 seconds. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly caramelized, 4 minutes. Add the carrots, bell pepper, and garlic to the pan and cook 2-3 minutes. Add the stock, saffron, raisins, lemon zest and juice, and olives to the pan and bring to a boil. Return the chicken to the pan, skin side down. Return the sauce to a boil, cover the tagine, and reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered, for 15 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces to the other side and add the almonds. Continue to cook, covered, until the meat is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes longer.
Start the couscous. Boil 2 cups vegetable broth with butter. When the vegetable broth comes to a full boil remove from heat and add the couscous.  Stir, cover, and let sit for 15 minutes. Fluff the couscous before serving.
Display the chicken in the tagine, garnished with the mint. Serve over warm couscous.