Moroccan recipe
How to make Chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives
طاجين
All of Morocco; the tagine is rooted in Amazigh (Berber) cooking
A slow-cooked stew named after the clay pot it is cooked in, a shallow dish with a tall cone-shaped lid. There are countless versions: chicken with preserved lemon and olives, lamb with prunes and almonds, or meatballs in tomato sauce with eggs.
Ingredients
- 1.2 kg chicken pieces (thighs and legs), skin removed if you prefer
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 onions, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- A pinch of saffron threads soaked in 2 tablespoons warm water (optional)
- 300 ml chicken stock or water
- 1 preserved lemon, rinsed, flesh removed and the peel cut into strips
- 100 g green or purple olives
- A handful of fresh coriander and parsley, chopped
- Salt and black pepper, and bread to serve
Method
- Mix the oil, half the onions, the garlic and all the spices in a bowl, add the chicken and turn it to coat. Cover and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes if you have time.
- Put the rest of the onions in a tagine or a heavy pan with a lid, lay the chicken on top and pour in the stock with the saffron.
- Cover and cook over a low heat (use a heat diffuser under a clay tagine) for about 50 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender.
- Add the preserved lemon peel and the olives, and cook uncovered for 10 minutes more so the sauce thickens.
- Taste for salt (the lemon and olives are already salty), sprinkle with the herbs and serve with bread to scoop up the sauce.
Made it at home? Tick it off and it goes into your kitchen passport.
The cone-shaped lid catches the steam and lets it drip back down, so the food cooks gently in very little water, useful in dry regions.
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