Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives
MOROCCAN · MOROCCO

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives

طاجين الدجاج بالحامض المصير والزيتونMain

A proper tagine: chicken braised slow with onion, garlic, ginger and saffron until the sauce turns silky, sharpened at the last minute with preserved lemon and briny olives. Serve it with bread to mop up every drop.

Total
95 min
Heat
1/5
Serves
4

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Flavour profile

Heat
Funk
Acid
Richness
Umami
  • Salty
  • Savoury
  • Silky
  • Sour

The real deal

Region
Morocco — the classic tagine of chicken, preserved lemon and olives from Fez and Marrakech.
Technique
Chicken braised gently with onion, garlic, ginger and saffron until the sauce is glossy and the meat falls off the bone; preserved lemon and olives stirred in at the very end so their perfume stays sharp.
We kept
Whole preserved lemon, cracked green olives, saffron and no tomato — the way it is made at home.

Ingredients

4 Serves

tagine

  • 1 kg · bone-in, skin-on, or a jointed whole chicken
  • 2 · finely chopped
  • 4 cloves · crushed
  • 3 cm · fresh, grated
  • ½ tsp · threads, steeped in warm water
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 bunch · fresh, chopped
  • 1 bunch · fresh, chopped
  • 3 tbsp
  • 400 ml
  • 1 tsp
  • 1 pinch
  • 1 tsp

finish

  • 1 · rind only, pulp discarded, finely sliced
  • 150 g · cracked, rinsed if very salty

Method

  1. Pat dry and rub it all over with , , , , , 1 tsp and 1 tsp . Leave it for 15 min while you chop the rest.

    Bone-in thighs stay juicy through a long braise; if you use breast, cut the cooking time and check early.

  2. Crumble into 100 ml and leave it to steep until the water glows deep gold.

  3. Chop fine. Chop and . Keep the herbs separate for the finish.

  4. Warm 3 tbsp in a tagine or heavy casserole over medium heat. Add the onion with a pinch of salt and cook until soft and translucent, about 8 min, without letting it brown.

    A tagine needs a diffuser or a heavy base; if using a clay tagine, keep the heat low and never shock it with cold liquid.

  5. Add the chicken pieces and turn them in the onion for a few minutes until they take on colour, then pour in saffron water.

  6. Add 300 ml , cover and simmer gently until the chicken is tender and the sauce is glossy, about 45 min. Turn the pieces once or twice and add a splash more water if it looks dry.

  7. Lift the chicken onto a plate and keep the sauce in the pot. If it is thin, boil it down over high heat until it coats a spoon.

  8. Slide and into the sauce and simmer for 5 min. Return the chicken, spoon the sauce over, scatter the coriander and parsley and heat through.

    Preserved lemon is salty and loud: taste the sauce before adding any more salt.

  9. Serve straight from the pot with warm bread or couscous, spooning the lemon-and-olive sauce over each portion.

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