Chicken Tagine With Olives and Preserved Lemons

Name: Chicken Tagine With Olives and Preserved Lemons
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: mediterranean, moroccan
Ingredients: 5 cloves garlic, finely chopped; 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, pulverized; 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon sweet paprika; 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin; 1/2 teaspoon turmeric; Salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 chicken, cut in 8 to 10 pieces; 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil; 3 medium onions, sliced thin; 1 cinnamon stick; 8 calamata olives, pitted and halved; 8 cracked green olives, pitted and halved; 1 large or 3 small preserved lemons (sold in specialty food shops); 1 cup chicken stock; Juice of 1/2 lemon; 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Recipe from Shallots New York

Adapted by Florence Fabricant

Chicken Tagine With Olives and Preserved Lemons — Michael Kraus for The New York Times

Total Time: 1 hour, plus marinating
Rating: 5(3,897)
Comments: Read comments

This rich and fragrant chicken stew is laden with complex flavors and spices reminiscent of the sort you might encounter in a mountainside cafe in Morocco. Save yourself the cost of a plane ticket, however, and make this at home. First, rub the chicken with a redolent combination of garlic, saffron, ground ginger, paprika, cumin, turmeric and black pepper, then pop it into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours to marinate. Once that's done, brown the chicken parts, and remove from the pan, making room for a pile of sliced onions that you'll sauté until golden brown. Nestle a cinnamon stick into the tangle of onions, pile the chicken parts on top and scatter with slices of preserved lemons and olives, a combination of green and kalamata. Add a bit of chicken stock and lemon juice, then cook over low heat until the chicken is cooked through, and your house smells amazing. —Florence Fabricant

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Ingredients

Yield:4 servings

5cloves garlic, finely chopped
¼teaspoon saffron threads, pulverized
½teaspoon ground ginger
1teaspoon sweet paprika
½teaspoon ground cumin
½teaspoon turmeric
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1chicken, cut in 8 to 10 pieces
2tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3medium onions, sliced thin
1cinnamon stick
8calamata olives, pitted and halved
8cracked green olives, pitted and halved
1large or 3 small preserved lemons (sold in specialty food shops)
1cup chicken stock
Juice of ½ lemon
1tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Ingredient Substitution Guide

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Preparation

Step 1
Mix garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric together. If not using kosher chicken, add ½ teaspoon salt. Add pepper to taste. Rub chicken with mixture, cover, refrigerate and marinate 3 to 4 hours.
Step 2
Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove to platter. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to tagine, if you are using one, or leave in skillet. Add cinnamon stick.
Step 3
Put chicken on onions. Scatter with olives. Quarter the lemons, remove pulp and cut skin in strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
Step 4
Cover tagine or skillet. Place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is done. Scatter parsley on top, and serve.

Ratings

5 out of 5

3,897 user ratings

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Comments

Michael7 years ago

I've made this several times.
A few points/suggestions.
* See Paula Wolfert's "Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco" for variations.
* I know it's customary to use both saffron and turmeric in Morocco. IMO this is a mistake. Turmeric is excellent, but it's not subtle and overwhelms the saffron. Use one or the other. I use saffron.
* The recipe says discard the preserved lemon pulp. However, Paula Wolfert says she does not bother and uses the pulp. So do I.

Nancy7 years ago

"Marinating" the chicken in the spices doesn't really work. Skip this step and add the spices to the onions. (The spice rub burned in the pan while the chicken was browning.)

Meri7 years ago

I have made this several times. I use 6-8 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin on. After browning chicken in step 2, I remove and discard the skin, leaving flavorful fond in the skillet. Drain excess chicken fat at this point.
I increase the amount of olives, and sometimes garnish with cilantro instead of parsley. A small amount of honey, added at the end of cooking, can add balance if it's too acidic.

Kathy F.1 week ago

I've made this several times, and this time it was perfect, so I'm saving my notes. No cilantro or parsley - saffron really shone through. 4 chicken thighs and 2 onions. Bloomed saffron, went a touch heavy. Medium-low heat to brown chicken without burning garlic. Rind only of preserved lemon (Meyer), more Meyer for the juice, and only 1/2 C. of chicken bone broth. 45 mins at 350 in Le Creuset tagine, no lid last 15 min. Start Instant Pot Moroccan cauliflower when you remove the lid.

Anne1 month ago

This was my first ever tagine. The two ingredients that seemed to make it unusually delicious were the cinnamon stick and the preserved lemon peel. So good!

Brie McK1 month ago

Like another commenter, I did not marinate the chicken but added the spices (no saffron on hand) to the cooking onions. This was absolutely delicious I will be making it again. Served with basmati rice and the sauce on top was wonderful.

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