Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Preserved Lemons

This Moroccan-inspired succulent chicken tagine is a perfect weekday meal served with couscous or rice. This tagine recipe is bursting with the flavours of tangy preserved lemons and the salty brine of olives. I love anything with preserved lemons and saffron and this classic Moroccan chicken tagine recipe does not disappoint. I have tweaked this over the years and this is the iteration I like best.

What is a Tagine?

Tagines are named after the cone-shaped earthenware cooking vessel in which they are cooked. Overwhelmingly associated with Morocco, tagine recipes often involve lamb or chicken cooked slowly with both savoury vegetables and sweet ingredients such as prunes, apricots, lemons as well as an array of heady aromatics like rose water, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and cinnamon. Tagines are typically served with cous cous, potatoes or simply crusty bread.

Today, tagine pots are widely available. I use a Le Creuset tagine with a cast iron base and enamel lid that I received as a wedding gift many years ago but you could also use any Dutch over or heavy-bottomed pot.

Ingredients

• 1 chicken quartered

• 2 onions, sliced

• 1 teaspoon coriander

• 1 teaspoon cumin

• Half a stick of cinnamon

• A thumb of ginger

• 2 cloves of garlic, ground into a paste with salt

• Strands of saffron

• 250ml of warm chicken stock or water

• 4 small or 2 large preserved lemons

• A dozen or so green olives

• Coriander leaves to garnish

• 3 tablespoons of pomegranate seeds to garnish

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180C or 350F.

• Dissolve the saffron in the warm chicken stock or water - this will take a few minutes.

• If using fresh spices, toast the cumin and coriander until they release their aroma and then grind to a fine powder in a spice grinder. I prefer freshly ground spices but powdered spices will also work in this chicken tagine recipe.

• Massage the onion slices with salt and leave to sit for 5 minutes to start to break them down. Meanwhile, prepare the preserved lemons by cutting them into slices - you can leave some of the flesh on but make sure you discard all the pips.

• Gently fry the onions in a little olive oil and stir in the coriander, cumin, cinnamon, ginger, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are translucent and completely coated in the spices.

Gently fry the onions with the spices

• Then add in the preserved lemon pieces and chicken. Fry for a further five minutes. Then pour in the saffron-infused chicken stock or water and bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and add in the olives.

Add the saffron-infused stock and olives to the pot

• Transfer the tagine to the oven and cook for 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. You can test this using a meat thermometer such as Thermopen. Chicken is fully cooked at 65C or when the juices run clear.

• Garnish with coriander leaves and pomegranate jewels. Serve immediately with some fluffed couscous or rice.

Chicken Tagine with Green Olives and Preserved Lemons