Chicken and Butternut Squash Tagine
This dish tastes like it’s been simmering on your stove top for hours thanks to our easy technique of roasting the tomatoes, onions and garlic then blending them into the sauce. Many grocery stores sell pre-peeled and chopped butternut squash, which can be a real time-saver when you’re making this for a quick weeknight meal.
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COST PER PLATE: $3.01
TOTAL COST: $12.03
Ingredients
- 4 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth, divided
- 1 cup whole-wheat couscous
- 1/4 cup organic golden raisins (or sultana raisins)
- 4 Roma tomatoes, each cored and cut into 8 wedges
- 1 yellow onion, peeled and cut into 8 wedges
- 3 large cloves garlic, peel
- 3 tbsp olive oil, divided
- 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into bite-size pieces
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
- 1 large carrot, chopped
- 1 stalk celery sliced
- 1 tsp each ground cumin, ground ginger, ground turmeric and smoked paprika
- 1 15-oz BPA-free can unsalted chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 2 cups peeled, seeded and diced butternut squash
- 1 each cinnamon stick and bay leaf
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, divided
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. In a medium saucepan, bring broth to a boil. To a heatproof bowl, add couscous and raisins. Pour 2½ cups broth over top. Cover tightly with foil or plastic wrap and set aside. Set remaining broth aside.
2. On a large parchment-lined baking sheet, arrange tomatoes, onion and garlic. Drizzle 1 tbsp oil over top; toss. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until softened and beginning to turn golden brown. Transfer to a blender along with remaining 1½cups broth (remove garlic peel); blend until smooth.
3. Season chicken with salt and pepper. In a large deep skillet or sauté pan on medium-high, heat 1 tbsp oil. Add chicken and sauté, stirring often, until golden brown, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
4. In same skillet on medium-high, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil. Add carrot and celery and sauté until beginning to soften, about 4 minutes. Add cumin, ginger, turmeric and paprika and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Return chicken and any juices to skillet. Stir in chickpeas, squash, cinnamon stick, bay leaf and blended tomato mixture and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer gently, stirring occasionally, until squash is tender, about 15 minutes. Discard cinnamon stick and bay leaf.
6. Stir 2 tbsp cilantro into couscous mixture and divide among 4 plates. Top with chicken mixture and sprinkle servings with remaining 2 tbsp cilantro.
Nutrition Information
- Serving Size 1/4 of recipe
- Calories 654
- Carbohydrate Content 78 g
- Cholesterol Content 133 mg
- Fat Content 21 g
- Fiber Content 14 g
- Protein Content 46 g
- Sodium Content 486 mg
- Sugar Content 15 g
- Monounsaturated Fat Content 11 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat Content 4 g