Steal This Recipe® Chicken Tagine | Bistro Lamazou

Chicken Tagine

Stolen with permission from Chef Abdel Makdad at Bistro Lamazou. An experience in dining rather than simply a place to eat the French Moroccan and Mediterranean restaurant in NYC has already gained recognition in the 2012 Michelin Guide. The high ceilings and vibrant Mediterranean colors of the restaurant create a warm and inviting ambiance and at the front there is a cheese and charcuterie bar, emphasizing the connection to the Lamazou Cheese shop.

During the day the artful space is flooded with light from its tall windows, while a prix fixe lunch offers daytime fare. Weekend brunch blends classics with Mediterranean influences, and each Monday evening there is a Wine and Cheese Tasting, guided by Nancy Lamazou herself, while once a month, Opera Nights take place; taking beautiful advantage of the space’s exquisite acoustics.

On the menu there are appetizers like the Taste of Morocco sampler plate, a combination of specialties like the Tunisian Brick, a filo dough pocket stuffed with daily filling and Moroccan Chicken Pastilla with cinnamon, honey and almonds. Salads include Arugula and Smoked Duck Breast with shaved aged Gouda. Entrees include specialties like the Couscous Royal with Lamb, Filetto di Branzino (seabass) or the Mechwi Platter; a classically styled mixed grill that offers beef, lamb, chicken and merguez sausage served with tabboule and baby arugula.

Husband-and-wife team Nancy and Aziz Lamazou, renowned Manhattan foodies, opened Lamazou Cheese nearly 20 years ago to great acclaim. Their focus on the affinage (art of in-house aging) and selection of hundreds of artisanal cheeses from around the world has garnered their Murray Hill shop reviews in The New York Times and lines out the door. Now the couple brings their expansive worldview and passion for food to their French Moroccan and Mediterranean restaurant Bistro Lamazou.

About the chef: Bistro Lamazou’s cuisine is executed under the direction of chef Abdel Makdad, whose culinary career has seen his own restaurant venture in Taiwan, before working as Sous Chef at Alegretti. He joins Bistro Lamazou most recently from a Sous Chef stint at Benoit.

Bistro Lamazou
344 Third Avenue
NYC, NY 10010
212 481 8550

Chicken Tagine is served at Bistro Lamazou for $20.
This recipe makes 2 restaurant servings.

Chicken Tagine Ingredients:
3 lbs chicken
16 oz dark chicken stock or reduced chicken broth by half
8 oz wild mushrooms
8 oz boiled fingerling potatoes
6 oz pearl onions
6 oz green pitted olives
2 oz brandy
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped shallots for garnish
Chopped parsley for garnish

Steal This Recipe® Step by Step Instructions:
Preheat a pan with olive oil.
Sear the chicken skin side down on medium high fire until golden brown, for approximately 5 minutes.
Then turn it, add the pearl onions, mushrooms and olives.
Sauté them together until the mushrooms start sweating then remove the pan from the stove, add the brandy and carefully put it back on fire.
After the alcohol burns out add the chicken broth, increase the fire to high until the sauce reaches a boiling point, then cover the pan and put it in a preheated oven at 450F for 25min.
After 20min, cut the boiled fingerling potatoes in halves and sauté them in a pan with olive oil, shallots and parsley.
Remove the pan with the chicken from the oven.
Plate the chicken, onions, mushrooms and olives then add the fingerling potatoes on the top.
Serve and enjoy.