Name: Moroccan Chicken Tagine
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 20 min
Total time: 1 h 45 min
Yield: 6 servings
Cuisine: Moroccan
Ingredients: 1.5 kg chicken thighs and drumsticks, bone in; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 onions, thinly sliced; 5 garlic cloves, minced; 25 g fresh ginger, minced; 1 ½ tsp ground turmeric; 2 tsp ground ginger; 1 ½ tsp ground cumin; 1 tsp sweet paprika; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; ½ tsp saffron threads; 400 ml chicken stock; 2 preserved lemons, rind only, sliced; 150 g green olives, such as Picholine; 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt; 1 large bunch coriander, chopped; 1 large bunch flat-leaf parsley, chopped; 400 g couscous, to serve

Moroccan Chicken Tagine

Chicken braised with preserved lemon, olives and warm spices until it falls off the bone, in a sauce reduced to a golden glaze. The preserved lemon is what makes it taste unmistakably Moroccan.

1 hr 45 min to 1 hr 55 min total 1 hr 45 min to 1 hr 55 min start to finish Serves 6 servings Easy

Make Ahead and Storage

Refrigerate 4 days, freeze 3 months. The flavour deepens overnight. Reheat gently, covered.

Making Moroccan Chicken Tagine

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Steep the saffron in 4 tablespoons of warm stock and set aside.
Season the chicken and brown it hard in the olive oil in a heavy casserole or tagine, skin-side down first, for 6 minutes then 3 more on the other side. Work in batches. Set aside.
Lower the heat and cook the onions in the same fat for 12 minutes until soft and golden.
Add the garlic and fresh ginger for 2 minutes, then all the ground spices and cook 60 seconds until fragrant.
Return the chicken with the stock, saffron infusion and half the herbs. The liquid should come halfway up the meat, no more.
Cover and simmer very gently for 45 minutes, turning the pieces once.
Add the preserved lemon rind and olives and cook uncovered for 15 to 20 minutes more, until the chicken is falling off the bone and the sauce has reduced to a glossy glaze.
Taste and adjust the salt carefully — preserved lemons and olives both bring plenty.
Scatter with the remaining herbs and serve with couscous (optional).

Related guide: Ingredient substitutions.

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Worth Knowing

Rinse the preserved lemon rind and discard the pulp, or the dish will be far too salty.
Do not drown the chicken. A tagine steams as much as it braises, and too much liquid gives you soup.
A traditional conical tagine is lovely but a heavy casserole with a tight lid works just as well.

Behind the Recipe

Preserved lemons contribute a fermented, savoury citrus depth entirely different from fresh lemon — their rind has softened over months in salt and their bitterness has mellowed. Only the rind is used because the pulp is intensely salty and would overwhelm the sauce.

What to Put Next to It

A Moroccan grey wine or a light red · Serve with couscous and a shredded carrot salad · Finish with mint tea and pastries

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Moroccan Orange Salad, Msemen.

Changing the Recipe

If you only have ground ginger, a quarter-teaspoon for each tablespoon of fresh is the ratio usually given; it tastes warmer and less bright than the fresh root.
An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.