Chicken tajine with potatoes and fennel

Today I decided to cook a simple tajine with chicken, potatoes, and fennel.  Would you believe that I had never ate fennel before I started making this tajine?  I thought that I was adventurous too.  Growing up in a southern home our exposure to foods outside of potatoes and carrots were few and far between. 

Tajine with Potatoes and Fennel

Ingredients:

4-6 pieces of chicken or you can use 1 lb of beef, lamb or goat in 1-2 inch cubes

2-3 tbs olive oil or vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

2-3 tbs each of Italian parsley and Cilantro, chopped

1 medium tomato, skinned and chopped

Salt\pepper to taste

1 tsp each of turmeric, ginger, paprika

A pinch of saffron

1 chicken bouillon, optional

2-4 garlic cloves, minced

3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered

2 fennel bulbs, cut off the tops and the bottoms and then cut into quarters

Place your tajine on medium heat.  Add the oil, onion, garlic, tomato, cilantro, parsley, bouillon cube, and the spices.  Simmer for a few minutes. Then add the chicken and simmer for about 30 minutes with the lid on, turning after about 15 minutes.  Next, place the potatoes and fennel on top of the chicken.  Try to make a star pattern if you can.  It looks more appetizing that way.  I placed the fennel first because it seems to take longer to cook than the potatoes.  Add salt\pepper to the top and simmer until the vegetables are tender enough to use bread as your utensil. 

Cooks note:  If you don’t have a tajine, use a skillet or a large pan.  It will still taste the same.