You can tell that I wasn’t feeling too hot when I made this week’s French Fridays with Dorie recipe (Chicken Tagine with Sweet Potatoes & Prunes, p 212). When I came to look at the pictures last night I was like “Oh my – a big old bowl of stew. Unattractively plated.” No, it was not plated with my usual care and thought. I made this ages ago, just after I had my root canal surgery and it was the first thing I cooked. It’s an easy dish (and one that does not require much chewing!) and one that makes the house smell amazing – comfort in a bowl which is totally what I needed that weekend!
A little bit sweet, a little bit savoury, this tagine is the perfect chilly evening dish. It’s pretty easy (people recovering from general anesthetics can even make this!) and with just a little bit of effort, it fills the house with fabulous aromas reminiscent of Morocco. I’ll be making this again this winter. In fact, perhaps it’s the perfect dish to enjoy on the porch as we dole out Hallowe’en candies next Wednesday!
French Fridays with Dorie participants do not publish the recipes on our blogs rather, we prefer if you purchase Around My French Table for yourselves (trust me, you definitely want this book!) which you can do here on Amazon or Amazon Canada. Or for free worldwide shipping, buy from The Book Depository. Go on, treat yourself – join us! Honestly, the recipes that I didn’t like I can count on one hand. Really!
* Canadian readers – enter to win a copy of Thomas Keller’s Bouchon Bakery Cookbook here!
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This is not the ideal thing to plate, I agree, but boy was it good! Wonder how you managed to eat it right after you dentist´s visit. It looks wonderful anyway! Have a great weekend Mardi!
It was actually very very soft (the chicken was tender and so was the sweet potato). A perfect “real meal” after a couple of days of soups and smoothies.
Yum!!! I will have to make this. Will be home from France soon and I have some preserved lemons waiting for me to use.
Lille
Cheers but there are no preserved lemons in this (though they would go nicely!)
Yeah, I think everyone had to earn their keep trying to make this one attractive… I think your pain induced efforts are rather lovely 🙂
I remember when The Dude had his root canal done a couple of years ago. We had a snow storm that day and he decided to go out and snowblow the driveway within a few hours of having his teeth out. And THEN, he ordered chicken parm take out that same night. And didn’t understand why he had all sorts of problems the next few days after all that. Man, I have my hands full with that one…
Well thanks Cher!
I think comfort food is often hard to photograph — it’s often brown or earth-toned, oddly. Mac and cheese, beef stew, meatloaf — none of it is very photogenic! That being said, this stew still looks cozy and warming. Hope you’re healing well, Mardi!
Yes the brown toned food is the bane of my existence!
I think it looks delicious. I love chicken with prunes and it looks like you added squash – which would be perfect with this dish. Happy weekend!
Nope, no squash, just sweet potatoes as per the recipe! 🙂
Well, your pictures look better than mine. It was pretty late by the time I got this to the table and my husband was starving and not about to put up with my picture taking delays. In fact, since it’s getting dark out so early now I’m having a much harder time getting decent pictures of any of the recipes. Oh well. At least the food is still tasty.
Rose I never take pictures at meal times. I always save some for the following day. Generally I make about 6 dishes on the weekends and do all my shooting then. No more interrupted mealtimes!
I was LOL… I am beyond impressed that you made this after general anesthetics and tooth work. I had all 4 wisdom teeth pulled and I don’t think I had more than a smoothie after that… A testament to what an incredible cook you must be regularly if you could pull this off.
Thanks but this one was so easy!
This is the perfect hot and substantial meal to come back to ‘real food’ for.
I like your approach to cooking and picture taking, Mardi. I’ve come to rely too much on Aperture’s white balance editing features to cut out some of the artificial light from taking pictures at the time of cooking.
How I wish I were a Canadian reader! I might have to spring up for the Bouchon book even though I’m more of a cook than a baker.
It’s always tricky to photograph in unnatural light. I ONLY use natural light for my pics for that reason.
I think your pictures still look great – it was kind of a hard one to photograph!
Thanks Maggie!
I have trouble getting decent dinner photos…the light is bad, the family is hungry, so I hurry. A root canal is a legitimate excuse…though your photos have got me reconsidering whether I should try this…I just may!
As I said, I never take my pics of the food at the time I am eating or serving. I’ve learned to make an extra portion (leftovers yay!) for the following day or whenever the light is better.
I still think your photo does it justice 🙂 we all have off days sometimes! will you have time to eat at all while passing out Halloween candy???
Well it wasn’t so much an off day but a very hard to photograph dish! And yes, we always sit out on our porch and eat as we dole out the candy!
This was not a very photogenic dish. That being said, it looks tasty.
Why thank you – I think 😉
It still looks great. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if the camera could capture the aroma too? And share it in your blog? Have a good Halloween. I always stock up on candy, but, sadly, even though I live on a main street, parents consider it a bit too busy and we don’t get much traffic. I si love when we get trick-or-treaters.
Aroma-cam – love it!
What’s wrong with your plating of the chicken tagine? Nothing, it’s lovely, especially with those big old prunes showing so prominently. I love prunes and they get a bad rap so anytime they are front and center in a picture, WooHoo. Glad we have denists to perform their wonders but sure don’t like sitting in their chairs. At least it’s over and I suspect, with a good result. Loved this tagine and, like you, I will make it again.
Well it’s just not the prettiest 😉