Moroccan Ajax Amsterdam Player Hakim Ziyech recently shared his mother’s spicy tagine recipe on the official team website. The article dated March 29, 2020, was posted for both of his Dutch and Moroccan fans. Ziyech wants to inspire Moroccan culinary experiments in the kitchen. “Tajine has been my favorite dish since childhood. It tastes great with chicken, meat, and fish and I often eat potatoes and vegetables with it. The sauce and herbs… that go with it give the dish it’s extra flavor.”
What you need:
* 1 tbsp butter
* 2 cloves of garlic
* Pinch of salt and pepper
* 300 gr couscous
* 500 gr chicken legs
* 1 yellow zucchini
* 1 medium winter carrot
* 1 small butternut squash
* 1 bunch of curly parsley
* ½ tsp dried coriander
* 1 tbsp ras el hanout spice
* 100 g prunes
* 100 gr peas
* 4 sprigs of fresh mint
* A tagine or skillet with a thick bottom
* An oven dish
Preparation method:
* Preheat the oven to 180 degrees
* Heat a knob of butter in the tagine or pan, which heats up over medium heat
* Chop the garlic and add it to the butter. Fry the garlic slightly, but do not discolor
* Season the chicken legs with salt and pepper and place them in the tagine with the hot butter and garlic. Bake the chicken legs all-around brown and then transfer them to an oven dish
* Turn off the heat under the tagine or pan and let the cooking liquid sit in it
* Meanwhile, prepare the couscous as indicated on the packaging
* Place the oven dish with chicken legs in the oven and bake it for 40 minutes
* Meanwhile, cut the yellow zucchini and the carrot into slices
* After removing the pips, cut the butternut squash into 1 cm cubes
* Turn the heat back on under the tagine or pan and let it warm. Then add the chopped vegetables and fry with the lid on the tagine or pan for 5 minutes on medium heat
* Chop the parsley and add it
* Also add the dried cilantro and the raa el hanout and stir well. Season with salt and pepper
* Finally add the peas and plums and let it heat for a further 10 minutes on low heat
* Remove the chicken legs and spread them over the tagine or pan
* Remove the tagine or pan from the heat and garnish the dish with chopped fresh mint leaves
The healthy and delicious tagine recipe is not the first time that Ziyech has shared Moroccan’s vibrant culinary scene. In 2018, the Ajax team released an official cookbook in which the football star stated the importance of eating together. ” It is very good for the bond with your family. I am the youngest of 9 children. When we sit at the table with my mother…we do not even realize that we have been eating for 1.5 to 2 hours.”
Hakim Ziyech is a professional footballer who plays for both Eredivisie club Ajax and the Morocco national team. For the season 2018-19, he was selected as one of the 20 best players in the UEFA Champions League. His skilled long passes, technique, free kicks, and dribbling have earned him the status as one of the best players in the world.