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Recipes · Chicken

Chicken Tagine, Moroccan

Chicken · Moroccan · Tagine

Chicken Tagine, Moroccan
Prep 25 mins
Cook 3 hours
Serves Servings: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

  • 1 to 2 preserved lemons, quartered and seeds removed
  • 1 whole chicken, cut into pieces, skin removed, back discarded or reserved for another use
  • 2 large white or yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 2 to 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 small handful fresh cilantro, chopped
  • 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons powdered ginger
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric (or 1/4 teaspoon Moroccan yellow colorant)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled, optional
  • 1 teaspoon smen, optional
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ras el hanout, optional
  • 1/3 cup olive oil
  • 2 handfuls pitted olives (green or red, or mixed)
  • 1/4 cup water, approximately, if using a tagine

Directions

  1. 1 - Gather the ingredients.
  2. 2 - Remove the flesh from the preserved lemons and chop the flesh finely. Reserve rind for cooking.
  3. 3 - Add the lemon flesh to a bowl along with the chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, ginger, pepper, turmeric, and salt. If using, add the saffron, ras el hanout, and smen. Mix well.
  4. 4 - If time allows, let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight. Cook in either a tagine or in the oven. (See below for more information on both methods.)
  5. 5 - Add enough of the olive oil to the tagine to coat the bottom.
  6. 6 - Arrange the marinated chicken in the tagine, flesh-side down, and distribute the onions all around.
  7. 7 - Add the olives and reserved rind of the preserved lemons, and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken.
  8. 8 - Add the water to the tagine, cover, and place on a heat diffuser over medium-low heat. Give the tagine time to reach a simmer without peaking. If you don’t hear the tagine simmering within 20 minutes, slightly increase the heat, and then use the lowest heat setting required for maintaining a gentle—not rapid—simmer.
  9. 9 - Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for 80 to 90 minutes, and then turn the chicken over so it’s flesh-side up. Cover the tagine again, and allow the chicken to finish cooking until very tender (about 45 minutes to 1 hour).
  10. 10 - Turn off the heat, and let the tagine cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy.

Notes

You’ll get more flavor if you start marinating the chicken with the Moroccan spices the night before.

The cooking times may vary depending on the size of your chicken. In the tagine, 2 1/2 hours allows the tagine to be brought to a slow simmer so it doesn’t dry out.

Check that the internal temperature of the chicken is between 165 and 175 F.