A whole chicken rubbed with ras el hanout and roasted with preserved lemon and olives until deeply golden and aromatic.
This roast chicken draws on the classic Moroccan tagine combination of preserved lemon and olives, but applies it to a whole roasted bird instead of a slow braise. The chicken is rubbed both under and over the skin with a paste of ras el hanout (Morocco's signature warm spice blend), garlic, and olive oil, then roasted alongside chunks of preserved lemon and briny olives that infuse the pan drippings with their distinctive tang. The technique hinges on the spice rub and the preserved lemon: rubbing the ras el hanout paste under the skin, not just on top, ensures the chicken meat itself picks up the spice blend's warmth (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, ginger, and more) rather than just the surface. Preserved lemon -- salt-cured whole lemons aged for weeks until their rind turns soft and intensely aromatic -- is roughly chopped and tucked both in the cavity and around the chicken, releasing its distinctive salty-sour perfume as it roasts. Served with the pan juices spooned over, alongside couscous or crusty bread, this chicken brings the signature Moroccan tagine flavor profile to a simpler, hands-off roasting technique that's become popular for Sunday dinners.
Serves 4
Combine ras el hanout, garlic, olive oil, and salt into a paste.
Loosen the skin over the breast and thighs. Rub half the paste under the skin, and the rest over the outside and inside the cavity.
Refrigerate uncovered at least 2 hours, ideally overnight.
Preheat oven to 200C/400F. Place onion slices in the bottom of a roasting pan, set chicken on top, and scatter preserved lemon and olives around it. Pour in stock.
Roast 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 180C/350F and continue roasting 55-65 minutes, basting occasionally with pan juices.
Check doneness (74C/165F in the thigh), rest 10 minutes, then carve. Serve with pan juices, olives, and preserved lemon spooned over, garnished with cilantro.
Rub the spice paste under the skin as well as over it -- this is what gets the ras el hanout flavor into the meat, not just the surface crust.
Rinse the preserved lemon briefly and remove the pulp/seeds if it tastes overly salty for your preference; use mostly the rind.
Baste with pan juices every 20 minutes to prevent the exposed skin from drying out before the chicken finishes cooking.
Spatchcock the chicken for faster, more even roasting, reducing total time to about 55-60 minutes.
Add halved fingerling potatoes to the pan in the last 45 minutes so they roast in the flavorful drippings.
Use bone-in chicken thighs instead of a whole bird for a quicker version, roasting about 40 minutes.
Refrigerate leftover chicken up to 3 days in an airtight container. Reheat gently in a 180C/350F oven for 12-15 minutes, spooning some pan juices over to keep it moist.
Preserved lemon and olives are a defining combination in Moroccan tagine cookery, dating back centuries as North African cooks developed salt-preservation techniques for citrus; applying the same flavors to a roasted whole chicken is a natural, modern extension of that pairing.
Quick preserved lemon can be made by salting lemon wedges and simmering them briefly in their own juice with extra salt for about 10 minutes, though it won't have the deep, fermented flavor of lemons cured for several weeks.
Preserved lemon and olives are both quite salty -- taste your preserved lemon first and reduce the added salt in the spice rub if needed, or rinse the preserved lemon before using.
Make a quick substitute by mixing equal parts cumin, coriander, cinnamon, and ginger with a pinch of black pepper and cayenne.
Per serving (380g / 13.4 oz) · 4 servings total
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