Stranger Foods

MoroccanTfaya with moroccan fry

Serves 4 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 45 mins

Made with caramelised onions, raisins, cinnamon and sugar, tfaya is the sweet slick that gives a decadent finish to savoury dishes, from tagines to couscous. It’s the cherry on top, to lux out the meal for a special occasion – like the Seven Vegetables Couscous. Catering for the Moroccan sweet tooth, it should have bucket loads of sugar, but my palate (and my dentist) are not so keen. So my version omits all but a pinch of sugar, as I feel the sweetness of the onions is enough. I serve tfaya with a really simple chicken fry, flavoured with dry chermoula and cumin.

Source: Orange Blossom & Honey

Ingredients

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Imperial

x0.5

For the chicken

600 g chicken thighs, roughly sliced
Juice of ½ lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
1 tbsp tomato purée
400 g tins chickpeas, washed and drained
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp dry chermoula
½ tsp ground cumin
1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped, to serve
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tfaya

20 g butter
2 red onions, finely sliced
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground turmeric
pinch ground black pepper
pinch sugar
35 g raisins, soaked in water for about 5 minutes
1 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

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Put the chicken thighs in a shallow dish, pour over the lemon juice and season with salt. Mix together. Cover and refrigerate overnight to marinate and tenderise.
Take the chicken out of the fridge to come to room temperature. Heat the oil and garlic in a large frying pan over a high heat. Tip in the chicken and stir-fry for . Be patient: lots of moisture will come out of the meat before it starts to brown. Once the liquid evaporates, the thighs will fry and turn gloriously golden.
Add the tomatoes, tomato purée, chickpeas, ginger, chermoula, cumin and a good pinch of salt and pepper to the pan. Pour over 100 ml of just-boiled water and mix well. Cook for until you have a thick sauce. Remove from the heat, cover the pan and steam for to soften the chickpeas.
Meanwhile, make the tfaya. Melt the butter in a small frying pan over a medium heat. Add the onions and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, for until golden and sticky. Add the ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, pepper and sugar. Tip in the drained raisins, and add 3 tablespoons of water and the lemon juice. Mix until thick then remove from the heat.
Scatter the parsley over the cooked chicken and serve immediately with the tfaya spooned over the top.

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