Chicken, Almond & Apricot Tagine

Fancy bringing a little sunshine to the dinner table? The wonderful chefs at Little Plough Kitchen have shared one of their delicious family recipes with us - a fragrant, warming chicken tagine that's packed with gorgeous flavours and simple ingredients.

There’s something rather special about a tagine. The combination of warming spices, tender chicken, sweet apricots and juicy raisins creates a wonderfully comforting dish that feels a little bit exotic while still being incredibly family-friendly.

And the best bit? It's wonderfully easy to make. This gluten-free recipe is perfect for a cosy family supper, but it's also delicious enough to serve at a grown-up dinner party. It's a brilliant way to introduce little ones to new flavours without making dinner too complicated.

A little bowl of sunshine

The secret to this tagine is all in the spices. Turmeric, ginger, cinnamon and cumin come together to create a beautifully fragrant base, while dried apricots and raisins add little bursts of natural sweetness. Ground almonds are the clever ingredient that brings everything together. Stir them into the stock and watch the sauce transform into something thick, creamy and wonderfully comforting. It's the sort of dinner that fills the kitchen with delicious smells long before anyone sits down at the table.

Ingredients

• 400g leftover roasted chicken, or 2 chicken breasts cut into bite-sized chunks
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 80g ground almonds
• 80g dried apricots, chopped or left whole depending on the age of your family
• 60g raisins
• 500ml chicken stock, preferably homemade
• 1 small white onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed and mashed into a paste
• A little oil, for cooking
• Salt and pepper, to taste

Cooking for little ones?

If you're serving this to younger children, chop the dried apricots into small pieces and make sure the chicken is cut into appropriately sized pieces for their age. You can also adjust the spices to suit your family's tastes. The recipe is wonderfully aromatic without needing to be fiery.

Let's get cooking!

1. Soften the onions

Start by gently sweating the sliced onion in a large frying pan. Cook it slowly until it becomes soft and translucent. Don't rush this bit — allowing the onion to soften gently gives you a lovely sweet base for the tagine. Once the onion is ready, add the garlic paste and spices. Stir everything together and cook for around 20 seconds. Keep a close eye on the pan here. You want those wonderful spices to become fragrant, but you don't want the garlic or spices to burn.

2. Add the chicken

If you're using leftover roast chicken, simply add it to the pan and stir everything together so that it's coated in the gorgeous onion and spice mixture.

Got raw chicken breasts instead? No problem! Remove the onions and spice mixture from the pan temporarily and pan-fry your chicken pieces until they're nicely coloured and completely cooked through. Then return the onion and spice mixture to the pan and stir everything together.

3. Add the stock

Pour around three-quarters of the chicken stock into the pan and give everything a good stir. The kitchen should now be smelling rather wonderful.

4. Stir in the almonds

Sprinkle the ground almonds into the pan. You'll see the sauce begin to transform almost immediately. The almonds help thicken the stock, giving the tagine a beautifully creamy texture without needing any cream. Add the remaining stock gradually to loosen the sauce. If it becomes too thick, simply add a splash more water or stock until you've reached the consistency you like.

5. Add the fruit

Now stir in the raisins and dried apricots. These little bursts of sweetness work beautifully with the savoury chicken and warming spices. Give everything a good stir and allow the tagine to gently bubble together for a few minutes, giving all those lovely flavours time to mingle. Taste and season if needed.

And that's it! Your fragrant family tagine is ready to serve.

What should you serve with tagine?

There are plenty of delicious options. For a wholesome family supper, serve your tagine with a bowl of fluffy brown rice. The rice is perfect for soaking up every last bit of that delicious sauce. Or try it alongside some roasted sweet potato. The natural sweetness of the potato is a lovely match for the apricots, raisins and cinnamon. You could also add some simple steamed vegetables or a fresh salad for a little extra colour. And don't forget something for mopping up the sauce!

A recipe for all the family

We love recipes like this because they're easy enough for a weekday supper but special enough to make dinner feel like an occasion. It's also a lovely opportunity to get children interested in different flavours. Let them smell the cinnamon, cumin and ginger before adding them to the pan. Talk about the different ingredients and where they come from. Older children can help measure the spices, weigh the dried fruit or stir ingredients under supervision. And younger children can help choose which side dish they'd like to serve.

Cooking together doesn't have to be complicated. Sometimes it's simply about giving children the chance to get involved and discover the joy of making something delicious.

A brilliant way to use leftovers

If you've got leftover roast chicken sitting in the fridge after a Sunday lunch, this recipe is a fantastic way to give it a completely new lease of life. Instead of eating the same meal twice, transform it into something fragrant, colourful and completely different. It's quick, comforting and helps make the most of food you already have.

Gather everyone around the table

Once the tagine is ready, pile everyone around the table and tuck in. There's something wonderfully sociable about serving a big, fragrant dish in the middle of the table and letting everyone help themselves. Warm spices, tender chicken, sweet fruit and creamy almonds - what's not to love? So next time you're looking for a family dinner with a little bit of adventure, give this delicious tagine a try. You might even find yourself transported somewhere sunnier — without leaving the kitchen!