African chicken tagine

Description:
A delicious dish to make ahead and heat through just before guests arrive.

Main ingredients:
Chicken, Vegetables, Rice, Sugar, Oil, Chilli, Spice, Stock/Broth, Olives, Honey, Garlic, Ginger

Ingredients:
540g chicken fillets, skin on
812g chicken thighs, bone in and skin on
4 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, peeled
4 garlic cloves, sliced
8cm piece ginger, grated
2 tsp cumin seeds, lightly crushed
2 tsp coriander seeds, lightly crushed
3 small cinnamon sticks
2 tsp ground ginger
Pinch crushed dried chilli
Large butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1ltr chicken stock
2 rounded tbsp clear honey
100g black pitted olives
4 tbsp roughly chopped coriander
Couscous or basmati rice, to serve

Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas mark 4.
Cut each chicken fillet in half, then season all of the chicken with salt and pepper.
Heat the oil in a medium sized ovenproof casserole dish.
Add the chicken, skin-side down and brown well all over in batches.
Transfer the browned chicken to a bowl as you cook.
Reduce the heat slightly, add the onions to the dish and cook until golden brown all over.
Add the garlic and grated ginger and cook for 1 minute before adding all of the spices and cooking for 2 minutes more.
Add in the butternut squash then stir to coat in the spices.
Arrange the chicken, skin side up now on top of the onions and squash.
Pour over the stock and drizzle over the honey then scatter over the olives.
Bring to a low simmer, then transfer to the oven.
Bake for 50-60 minutes or until tender, turning halfway through the cooking time.
The chicken is cooked when pierced with a fork or sharp knife and the juices run clear.
Scatter with the coriander and serve with couscous or rice.

Serves: 10
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 110 minutes
Recipe Type: Entertaining, Batch Cooking
Level of Difficulty: Easy