Chicken Tagine with Olives and Preserved Lemon

About This Recipe

This is the tagine most associated with Morocco abroad, named for the conical clay pot it's traditionally cooked in, which allows steam to circulate and condense back down onto the food, keeping the chicken moist through a long, slow braise. The sauce starts with a base of onion cooked down until jammy, then bloomed with saffron, ginger, and turmeric, giving the dish its signature golden color and warm, earthy aroma well before the chicken even goes in. Preserved lemon and green olives are added only in the final stretch of cooking so their briny intensity stays bright rather than muddying into the sauce, finishing the dish with the salty-tart contrast that makes this combination so distinctly Moroccan.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 8bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
• 3 tbspolive oil
• 2onions(sliced thin)
• 4 clovesgarlic(minced)
• 1 pinchsaffron threads
• 1 tspground ginger
• 1 tspturmeric
• 1/2 tspground cumin
• 1.5 cupschicken stock
• 2preserved lemons(rind sliced, pulp reserved)
• 3/4 cupgreen olives
• 2 tbspchopped cilantro
• 1.5 tspsalt

Instructions

1. 1

   Brown the chicken

   Heat olive oil in a wide, heavy pot and brown chicken pieces on both sides, about 8 minutes total; remove and set aside.

2. 2

   Cook the onions

   In the same pot, cook onions over medium-low heat until deeply softened and golden, about 15 minutes.

3. 3

   Bloom the spices

   Add garlic, saffron, ginger, turmeric and cumin, stirring 1 minute until fragrant.

4. 4

   Braise

   Return chicken to the pot with stock and salt; bring to a simmer, cover, and cook on low 35-40 minutes until the chicken is very tender.

5. 5

   Add the finishing ingredients

   Stir in preserved lemon rind, a spoon of the preserved lemon pulp, and olives; simmer uncovered 10 more minutes to let the sauce reduce slightly.

   Add olives and preserved lemon late so their bright, briny flavor doesn't cook away.

6. 6

   Serve

   Scatter with cilantro and serve with crusty bread or couscous to soak up the sauce.

Variations

• •

  Lamb shoulder can replace chicken for a richer, longer-braised version of the same sauce.

• •

  Some regions add whole almonds along with the olives for extra texture.

• •

  A version with artichoke hearts instead of olives is popular in coastal areas.

Storage

Refrigerate up to 4 days in an airtight container; the flavor improves the next day. Reheat gently on the stove, adding a splash of water if the sauce has thickened too much.

Frequently Asked Questions