Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon

About This Recipe

Tagine is both the name of the conical clay pot and the slow-braised dishes cooked within it. Moroccan tagine combines the ancient Berber tradition of slow-cooking with the spice routes of Arab traders, creating deeply aromatic braises that are uniquely Moroccan. The preserved lemon is the defining flavour — nothing else tastes quite like it.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1.5 kgchicken pieces(thighs and legs, bone-in)
• 2preserved lemons(rind only, finely chopped)
• 150 ggreen olives(pitted)
• 2onions(grated)
• 4garlic cloves(minced)
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspground cumin
• 1 tspground coriander
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1/2 tspsaffron threads(soaked in 4 tbsp warm water)
• 1 tspsweet paprika
• Large bunchcoriander and flat-leaf parsley(tied together)
• 4 tbspolive oil
• 300 mlchicken stock or water

Instructions

1. 1

   Marinate the chicken

   Mix chicken with grated onion, garlic, all spices, half the herbs (finely chopped), olive oil and half the preserved lemon. Marinate minimum 1 hour, ideally overnight.

2. 2

   Brown the chicken

   In a tagine or heavy casserole, sear chicken over high heat until golden — 4–5 minutes per side. Build flavour here.

3. 3

   Build the braise

   Add saffron water, stock, and the herb bouquet. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

4. 4

   Add olives and lemon

   Add olives and remaining preserved lemon. Cook uncovered 20–30 minutes until the sauce reduces to a thick, concentrated glaze and chicken is very tender.

5. 5

   Serve

   Scatter with fresh coriander. Serve directly from the tagine with couscous or crusty bread to mop up the sauce.

Variations

• •

  Lamb tagine with prunes and almonds — the sweetness of prunes against lamb is a Moroccan classic.

• •

  Vegetable tagine: chickpeas, root vegetables and apricots.

Storage

Keeps 4 days. Gets better on day 2 — make ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions