For Valentine’s Day, I received three gifts from my gorgeous partner-in-crime JD. First, a flower garden he cultivated in the backyard at 6AM in the morning of Valentine’s Day.
Second, a Jamie Oliver-inspired candlelit dinner for two in our kitchen (he cooked 3 dishes in 30 minutes!) and last but not the least, a huge gift-wrapped box. Inside was an orange tagine.
What a lucky woman I am, I know! That’s why I try my best to feed him well. For our first tagine meal, I could have made a chicken tagine with apricots but changed my mind and used Marion Grasby‘s recipe of cinnamon chicken tagine. It is a simple recipe and I had enough prunes left in the cupboard. I didn’t have saffron though and there is no substitute for it as I learned by googling later.
The dish turned out well even without the expensive spice. The thick sauce from the prunes and the flavor from the cinnamon stick made this dish intensely rich and aromatic. And the meat is so tender! I could have added some potatoes and carrots to absorb all those saucy goodness.
You can find Marion’s original recipe here.
The kitchen is my playground. 
February 25th, 2014 at 12:07 PM
This looks like a great recipe and the pictures of the chicken with the colorful taguine are perfect. Seeing the pictures… I wish that I was there to also enjoy the aroma of the cinnamon and the savory flavor of the chicken.
March 2nd, 2014 at 12:26 AM
My second tagine dish with chicken and sultanas was wonderful as well. I’m loving cooking in my tagine. Wish you were here too!
February 25th, 2014 at 4:24 PM
That is one sexy looking tagine! And the chicken looks damn tasty too!!
March 2nd, 2014 at 12:33 AM
Thank you! My tagine is damn sexy alright and the chicken is one hell of a great tasting meal!
February 26th, 2014 at 3:21 AM
What a wonderful gift! And meal!
March 2nd, 2014 at 12:36 AM
Thank you, Chef Mimi.This tagine beats my electric slow cooker anytime!
February 26th, 2014 at 9:16 PM
What a romantic JD is! He deserves a huge high five for the Valentine’s trifecta! The meal… three courses in 30? Wow. I am seriously impressed! As for the tagine, love that stunning orange hue. The cinnamon chicken sounds lovely… I am a big fan of Marion Grasby (she was one of my favourites on MasterChef) so I trust it must’ve tasted gorgeous. Thanks for sharing the recipe and notes. I definitely want to make this!
March 2nd, 2014 at 12:53 AM
That three courses in thirty minutes wasn’t easy. It involved multitasking. It was an eye opener for JD. 🙂 He picked the orange tagine because that is his fave color. Good taste! Lately I’m discovering so many talented Australian food bloggers like you. You have a very active food blogging community there.