I make this recipe in a classic tagine pot – if you are using a different cooking technique/implement, adjust the recipe accordingly. Adapted from The Guardian.

Ingredients

• 2 whole chicken legs (thigh and drumstick)
• 4 T vegetable oil
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 500 g peeled butternut squash, cut into 1″ dice
• 3 T mild harissa (use 1.5 T tomato paste as a substitute)
• 1 bay leaf
• 3 cardamom pods
• 1 t ground coriander
• ½ t ground ginger
• 1 t ground turmeric
• 1/4 t cayenne pepper (or 1/2 t if you want it more spicy)
• Small pinch saffron
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• ½ T honey
• 1/2 t salt and a few good grinds of pepper
• 150 g dried apricots, chopped
• ½ preserved lemon, skin only, roughly chopped
• 1 c stock (veggie or chicken)
• 4 T cilantro, roughly chopped
• 4 T parsley, roughly chopped
• 2 T pinenuts, toasted

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 375 F.
2. Heat 2 T oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.
3. Fry chicken legs for 2-3 minutes on each, until the skin is nicely browned.
4. Add 1 T oil to the bottom of the tagine, then place the browned chicken legs on top. Set aside.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine onion, butternut and all other ingredients–except for stock, cilantro, parsley, pine nuts, and already cooked chicken—with 1 T oil.
6. Mound butternut-onion-spice mixture on top of tagine and gently compress so it all fits under the tagine lid. You shouldn’t be able to see the vegetable mixture poking out the sides of the tagine.
7. Pour 1 c stock into the bottom of the tagine.
8. Cook tagine in oven for 1.5 hours (cooking time may vary!) until the butternut squash is soft but still has texture. (Note: you may want to place a metal tray beneath the tagine to catch any dripping liquid.)
9. When done cooking, remove from oven and let sit a few minutes.
10. Serve with a sprinkle of herbs and pine nuts, alongside fluffy couscous.