I’ve made this chicken dish from Georgia (Europe) before for a lunch invitation and it really is delicious. If you haven’t as yet checked out Georgia About, it’s a wonderful cultural site with scrumptious recipes. I’ve posted it this time with a French title to lure in my French followers 🙂
This is a picture of our backyard today with 10-18 inches on the way and a threat of a blizzard. We’re so excited 🙂 My husband is standing next to the dog run line enrobed in snow. Good day for staying inside, cooking, eating and having a glass or two.
I only had 2 capsules of saffron threads left. I like the capsule “doses” because unlike the loose threads, they seldom spill. I haven’t seen the capsules so I’ll just order the loose threads from Amazon 😦
The 2 capsules were not quite enough for 4 whole chicken legs. I prefer to make this recipe with thighs but the Kosher people didn’t have any but said they could get them if I submitted a special order. I separated the thighs from the drumsticks to make eight pieces.
These mushrooms look like cremini, I guess they are called baby bellas as in portobello?
Lovely! Savory vegetables, aromatics and chicken. Comfort food for a cold day. My husband hovered impatiently as I took the pictures.
Georgian Chicken Tajine
4 whole chicken legs, cut into drumstick and thigh
Salt and pepper
3-4 capsules saffron
2 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter
4 garlic cloves, slivered
2 medium leeks, white and green, sliced
2 onions, halved and sliced
1 tsp red peppercorns
3/4 lb mushrooms, sliced
1 red bell pepper, coarsely diced
2 bay leaves
3 tbsp white vinegar
Sprinkle the chicken pieces with the saffron, then, in an Emile Henry tajine or stove top to oven casserole, brown them in the olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter. Remove and set aside.
Add the remaining 1 tbsp of butter to the tajine and the garlic, leeks, onions and peppercorns. Cook with cover on for 15 minutes on a low flame. Cover off, add the mushrooms and bell pepper, stir frying until the mushrooms release their water.
Stir in the bay leaves and vinegar. Stir in the chicken pieces then turn the pieces skin side up and roast in an 400 F oven for 20 minutes with top on. Take off the top and continue to roast an additional 10 minutes.
Serve with steamed rice or mashed potatoes.
Cooking in Sens 
That looks delicious and I love the salt and pepper chicken!
We’ve had snow all week, so Im over it now, but I think there’s rain coming… It’s been a good excuse to spend a lot of time cooking though and I’ve had lovely rabbit in mustard tonight.
Rabbit in mustard. Sounds so good! The only way I’ll get rabbit is either on line or to send my husband out with a rifle 🙂
He won’t get much in the snow!
The squirrels are still out 😀
Ha ha – I quite like squirrel and it’s very similar to rabbit.
Gorgeous! Do you think I could substitute black peppercorns, or is it worth getting my hands on some red ones?
Thank you. Black peppercorns should be fine.
Oh, good, I have lots of those. (Though part of me was maybe looking for an excuse to go to Penzeys, hehe).
We have been suffering blizzard conditions over the past few days too. More snow than I have seen here in all my life has led to a bit of cabin fever. I exercised both myself and my fever by clearing the snow earlier. Resting now and looking at lovely chicken recipes…
Thank you Conor. Blessed with 11 inches of “heart attack” snow (wet and heavy), we flagged down a young man with a snow shovel and paid him to do the right thing 😀
I feel a lot older having cleared my own and a neighbor’s. Glad we only get it every decade.
I don’t know Conor. The climate is changing. Do you remember it snowing in Dublin in the 90s? We were there in Blackrock. We were charmed 🙂
That was gentle by these standards. No doubt about the climate change.
Looks delicious! If I could, I would put saffron in everything, I love it so much. I even put it in my scrambled eggs!
Great idea!
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What great flavours in this dish. Getting hit again with snow today so I’m baking but I wish I had the ingredients for this dish.
Looks delicious!
Thank you Kitty.
Love you site