Friday, October 26, 2012

FFwD - Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes & Prunes; Eggplant “tartine” with tomatoes, olives, and cucumbers


Hooray, it's Friday again!  I am having some pretty turgid weeks lately, so it always brings a smile to my dial when I make it to yet another Friday and know that I can settle in with a drink after work with friends and forget all about it.

This French Friday with Dorie recipe was Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes and Prunes.  I was pretty excited about this one, as this is my kind of food.  I adore meat and fruit dishes (which I know others hate with a passion), so this one was a no brainer for me to make.

I used "lovely legs" for my chicken pieces, being chicken thighs with the bone in and skin off.    When I worked in a deli as a teenager, we used to titter about the "lovely legs".  I  made the recipe as written, except that I added half a preserved lemon to the mix - hey, I have a big jar of them, so I might as well use them.

I loved this tagine every bit as much as I thought I would - the sauce was so devine that I even mopped it up with a slice of bread so as not to waste a drop.  Superb recipe and a keeper!

I then did a rewind to the first Friday in September to make  the Eggplant Tartine with Olives, Tomatoes and Cucumbers:    


This dish was not such a hit with me, although it looks pretty.  I did like the rounds of baked eggplant, but found the salsa on top a little too bitey for my tastes.

To see what the other Dorie participants thought of this week's tagine, visit the LYL section of the FFwD website.

Have a fabulous weekend!

14 comments:

Cher Rockwell said...

I am so grateful that tomorrow is a Friday.
Fruit and mean can go either way in my book, but I did like the flavor the prunes brought to the table in this one.
Have a great weekend.

Not Quite Nigella said...

I don't mind meat and fruit together but not when it is too sweet. Also I find some meats suit fruit better-like this! :)

Finla said...

I just bought a tagine pot last week. Lov ethe look of this chicken dish.

Kayte said...

I'm trying to get onboard with those ingredients all touching and blending together...I'm not sure I like prunes with anything other than other prunes. That said, it makes we want to try it just by reading your description of it...and your photo of it looks nice...nice and comforting. I did make the eggplant dish and we loved that one...now have Mark eating eggplant, who knew? You have a pretty photo of it there.

Sara said...

I'm not ashamed to admit that I saved my leftover juices (even after everything else was gone!) to soak my bread in for breakfast! Divine is definitely a good word for it! Lovely job!

Diane Balch said...

I never bought the preserved lemons... great idea to throw one into this recipe it probably helped balance the sweetness.

Anonymous said...

Both dishes look great! Thanks for the two-fer!

Paula @ Vintage Kitchen said...

I too, love fruit and meat dishes and this one is wonderful! Good job catching up!

Adriana said...

The vinegary dressing on the eggplant tartines was amazing. I could definitely pull one of those together for lunch over the weekend.

Those are some lovely legs indeed! It's almost the same look as the French-style lamb chops, right?

Elaine said...

What a great idea to add the preserved lemon. I am glad that you also enjoyed this one.

Rose said...

Well I've never heard of Lovely Legs before, I imagine that would have made me titter as well. I generally fall into the no-fruit-with-my-meat camp, but I have to admit that they contributed to a truly delicious sauce in this dish.

Anonymous said...

I find meat and fruit dishes to be hit and miss a bit... but glad you liked this one too! :)

Is that celery on your eggplant tartine? I found that when we finely diced the cucumber and tomatoes and mixed it all together and seasoned it well, that it all came together really nicely.

TeaLady said...

Preserved lemon. Good idea. This was good, wasn't it. And a perfect way to start the wknd.

Betsy said...

P.S. I forgot to say that I love your addition of preserved lemon. Brilliant!