Chicken & Apricot Tagine

This is a fantastic one pot dinner for the whole family, particularly when drizzled with yoghurt and served with some toasted pitta to mop up the sauce! My daughter has loved it from very early on and I think much of that is to do with the natural sweetness that the apricots bring. 

Serves 2 adults and 1-2 small children

---------------------------------------------------

250g chicken breast, cut into 1-cm slices

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp mild curry powder

2 tbsp tomato puree

6 organic dried apricots, diced

juice of 1/2 lemon

180g sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-cm dice

250g passata

200g vegetable stock or water

30g couscous

75g chickpeas

1 tbsp fresh parsley, roughly chopped

---------------------------------------------------

Preheat the oven to 200oC. Place the cinnamon, curry powder, puree, apricots, lemon juice and 150g passata in a blender and blitz down into a smooth liquid. In a heavy bottomed ovenproof dish (preferably with a lid- I use a shallow Le Creuset) place the sweet potato and pour over the tomato and apricot mixture. Place in the oven for 30 minutes- try to resist the urge to peek as this will release the steam and the potatoes will not cook properly. After 30 minutes remove the dish and add the chicken along with the remaining 100ml passata, vegetable stock and couscous. Place the lid back on and everything back in the oven for 30 minutes. If using, add the chickpeas and parsley 10 minutes before the end of cooking and place back in the oven. Once ready, serve immediately.

for early weaning: blend down until smooth and portion up. 

just for adults? Serve with a squeeze of lemon, a spoonful of yoghurt and harissa paste.