Chicken Tagine with Dried Figs and Honey

Do you ever cook a dish that as soon as you put that first taste in your mouth leaves you in a state of elation? You even do a little dance or wiggle (when no one is looking) of shear happiness, and pride. (Yep I do a happy wiggle!) You say to your self "Oh my god this is so good, why didn't I think of this before". You hold your head up high and think about all of the compliments you'll receive on this almost orgasmic dish, how they are all going to rave to everyone they meet about your amazing culinary talent, how everyone is going to ask what's your secret? And how they'll beg you to please give them the recipe. Oh yeah folks, that's a great floating in the clouds kinda feeling... Then you look down on the counter, and SMACK! There it is, the piece of paper you printed out with the recipe. Do you hear that? That's the loud sound of your bubble bursting and bringing you back to reality. Oh dam you reality! OK, so now that you are back in the real world you remember that you were not the mastermind behind this delectable dish. You were just lucky enough to have found the recipe on a great site. Man, why couldn't I have been the one to have masterminded this recipe? Perhaps we can blame the wine we drank for allowing such illusions of grandeur. And maybe next time you'll only have a very small glass of wine (on an empty stomach) instead of gulping down a normal sized glass. Neah! There's that reality bubble again.

Today's exotic recipe, Chicken Tagine with Dried Figs and Honey, is a delectable feast that you can prepare in a relatively low amount of time and it won't brake the bank. Since reality hit me hard this will be another installment of my "Recipe Review", and I think you all know what I think of this recipe. I found this recipe last Autumn, as we were looking for ways to use up or enormous bag of dried figs before they became too hard. This site belongs to Valley Fig Growers (I am not being paid for this), they have so many fantastic recipes and information about many of their products. Well as soon as I read their recipe for Chicken Tagine with Dried Figs and Honey I knew immediately that it was the perfect recipe. Before the dish was done my husband came into the kitchen asking what the smell was. We both really fell in love with this recipe, it is a little sweet, spicy, hearty, healthy, exotic and oh so delicious. I prepared it so many times, I lost count, until I couldn't buy anymore dried figs at my local markets. We both have been anxiously awaiting for Autumn and fig season to arrive because that means dried figs will also be available. Yay! Insert happy dance here. I've bought the first bag and quickly prepared their recipe. I don't own the recipe so I will just provide you with a link to it and you can go to Valley Fig Growers and read the 5 star worthy recipe. I follow the recipe as is but the only change I made is that sometimes I like to serve it with spiced Millet instead of Couscous and it still taste amazing.

And now for a few interesting fact about figs as found on Wikipedia: "The Common Fig is widely grown for its edible fruit throughout its natural range in the Mediterranean region, Iran, Pakistan and northern India, and also in other areas of the world with a similar climate, including Louisiana, California, Georgia, Oregon, Texas, South Carolina, and Washington in the United States, south-western British Columbia in Canada, Nuevo León and Coahuila in northeastern Mexico, as well as Australia, Chile, and South Africa. Figs can also be found in continental climate with hot summer, as far north as Hungary, and can be picked twice or thrice per year.
-It has been an important food crop for thousands of years, and was also thought to be highly beneficial in the diet.
The edible fig is one of the first plants that was cultivated by humans. Nine subfossil figs of a parthenocarpic type dating to about 9400–9200 BC were found in the early Neolithic village Gilgal I (in the Jordan Valley, 13 km north of Jericho). The find predates the domestication of wheat, barley, and legumes, and may thus be the first known instance of agriculture. It is proposed that they may have been planted and cultivated intentionally, one thousand years before the next crops were domesticated (wheat and rye).
-Figs can be eaten fresh or dried, and used in jam-making. Most commercial production is in dried or otherwise processed forms, since the ripe fruit does not transport well, and once picked does not keep well.
- Fig are richest in fiber, copper, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, and vitamin K, relative to human needs.Figs have a laxative effect and contain many antioxidants. They are good source of flavonoids and polyphenols."

A very healthy,nutritious,fruit with a very interesting history. So what are you waiting for eat some figs. You may want to start with this recipe, Chicken Tagine with Dried Figs and Honey .