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Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives

Name: Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 60 min
Total time: 85 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 1000 g Chicken thighs; 300 g Onion; 4 cloves Garlic cloves; 20 g Fresh ginger; 1 tsp Ground turmeric; 1 tsp Ground cumin; 1 tsp Ground cinnamon; 1 tsp Saffron threads; 1 piece Preserved lemon; 120 g Green olives, pitted; 20 g Fresh coriander; 400 ml Chicken stock; 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil; 2 tbsp Lemon juice; 2 tsp Fine sea salt

Chicken thighs marinated in ginger and saffron, then braised slowly with onion until the sauce is thick and golden, finished with preserved lemon and olives. Made in a heavy casserole if you have no tagine.

Prep: 25 min
Cook: 60 min
Difficulty: Easy

About this dish

The tagine is named for the conical clay pot it is cooked in, whose lid returns condensed steam to the dish so that almost no liquid is lost — an ingenious answer to cooking in a dry country. Chicken with preserved lemon and green olives is the version served most often in Moroccan homes, and the preserved lemon is not a garnish but the point: months in salt turn its bitterness into perfume.

Gluten-free
Lactose-free
Not vegetarian because of Chicken thighs, Chicken stock

Ingredients

4servings

1000gChicken thighs
300gOnion
4clovesGarlic cloves
20gFresh ginger
1tspGround turmeric
1tspGround cumin
1tspGround cinnamon
1tspSaffron threads
1piecePreserved lemon
120gGreen olives, pitted
20gFresh coriander
400mlChicken stock
3tbspExtra-virgin olive oil
2tbspLemon juice
2tspFine sea salt

Instructions

Mix the grated ginger, turmeric, cumin, crumbled saffron and salt into a paste with a little oil. Rub it over the chicken thighs and leave them for at least 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge.
15 min
Tip: Saffron needs moisture and time to give up its colour. Rubbed on dry it stays as expensive orange threads clinging to the skin.
Soften the sliced onion and garlic in the olive oil over low heat for 10 minutes, until sweet and translucent but not browned.
10 min
Tip: Moroccan braises want the onion sweet, not caramelised. Colour here would push the dish towards a European stew.
Push the onions aside, raise the heat and settle the chicken in skin-side down. Sear 5 minutes, turn, and scatter over the cinnamon.
8 min
Tip: The marinade will want to catch — keep the pieces moving in the last minute and use the onions underneath as a buffer against the hottest part of the pan.
Add the stock and the preserved lemon, quartered and with the pulp scraped out. Cover and simmer very gently for 45 minutes, until the chicken pulls away from the bone.
45 min
Tip: Only the rind goes in whole; the pulp is intensely salty and would take over. It should tremble, never boil, or the meat tightens.
Stir in the olives and half the coriander, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes to thicken the sauce. Finish with lemon juice and the rest of the coriander, and serve with bread or plain couscous.
10 min
Tip: Rinse the olives first if they are packed in strong brine. The last squeeze of lemon is what lifts a long braise back into focus.