Chicken tagine

Ingredients

• ½ bunch coriander, leaves chopped, roots and stems finely chopped
• 4 cm piece ginger, grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 chicken breasts, trimmed
• ¼ tsp saffron threads
• 1 large red onion, thinly sliced into rings
• 3 large sebago potatoes, thickly sliced
• 3 large carrots, thickly sliced on the diagonal
• 60 g (½ cup) pitted green olives 

Marinating time 6 hours

Drink match 2011 Serafino Chardonnay, McLaren Vale, SA ($22)

Instructions

Using a mortar and pestle, grind coriander roots and stems, ginger, garlic, cumin and 1 tsp salt to a fine paste. Add 1 tbsp oil and stir to combine. Transfer to a large bowl. Add chicken and rub all over with paste. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 6 hours to marinate. Remove chicken from fridge 30 minutes before cooking.

Soak saffron in 125 ml warm water for 10 minutes, pressing with the back of a spoon to extract as much colour as possible. Place remaining 1 tbsp oil in a large tagine or heavy-based pan. Carefully arrange onion, potatoes, carrots and marinated chicken in tagine, then pour over saffron mixture. Cover with lid and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 1½ hours or until chicken is cooked through and vegetables are tender. Stir in olives and serve scattered with coriander leaves.

Photography Alan Benson