I served this tajine with brown rice, string beans and sliced tomatoes. This recipe could have easily been made with chicken, beef or lamb. Turkey is simply my preference. The dried fruit may vary also: I just had prunes and figs around but dates, raisins, cranberries, apricots or any combination of them would add piquancy and sweetness.
Turkey tajine with dried fruit
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Ingredients
- 2 lbs deboned turkey thighs
- 1 large red onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 2 tbsp silan date honey or maple syrup
- 1 tbsp dark honey
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp cumin
- ½ tsp ginger
- 1 small piece of chili pepper
- 1 large bay leaf
- 1 medium orange, peeled and quartered
- ½ cup chopped parsley
- Olive oil
- A large handful of dried fruit
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- If you don’t have a tajine, use a deep skillet that has a lid.
- Peel the onion and slice it into thick rings. Heat a little olive oil in your tajine/skillet and start cooking the onions in it, over a low flame.
- Peel and chop the garlic coarsely. Set it aside.
- After the onion has become soft but not caramelized nor fried, add the cumin, ginger, chili pepper, fruit, bay leaf and orange quarters. Allow this to cook for a few minutes. Add the garlic.
- Add the turkey pieces and brown them, turning them over a few times during the process. This should take about 15 minutes over a medium flame.
- Add the silan/maple syrup and soy sauce, drizzling the liquids over the turkey. Add 1 teaspoon salt; grind some pepper over all.
- Cover the tajine and lower the flame as far as possible. Allow it to cook gently for up to an hour, checking once in a while to make sure the turkey isn’t sticking to the pan or becoming overcooked.
- When it seems ready, add the honey. Stir it into the liquids, which should have become a thick sauce. Taste the tajine, and add salt and pepper if liked.
- The stew will be pungent and slightly sweet, but an uninteresting brown. To please the eye, scatter some chopped parsley over it before serving – or some lightly toasted pine nuts if you have some on hand.
Originally Published Aug 10, 2021 03:40PM EDT
