Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

Chicken tagine with preserved lemon and olives is one of the most popular and traditional dishes in Morocco. I had this dish the first time when I went for lunch in a small roadside restaurant in Casablanca. It was slowly cooked in a clay tagine over a smouldering charcoal fire using a special brazier. The meat was unbelievably tender and moist.

A tagine is a shallow cooking pot with a cone-shaped lid. They are traditionally made of clay and not glazed. However, in these days, they are often glazed. They may also be painted and made of other types of materials (e.g. cast iron). Some tagines are for decoration only and cannot be used for cooking. It is difficult to find unglazed tagine in the UK, but I managed to buy one from an online store. I must say it adds a lovely earthy flavour to the food. A clay tagine needs to be seasoned before its first use to improve its strength and remove its raw clay taste.

Traditionally, tagines are heated over an open fire. But at home, it would be more convenient to place it on a gas or electric stove top with a heat diffuser. Start at a very low temperature and slowly raise the heat as necessary. Avoid high heat to or sudden change in temperature to minimise the risk of cracking of the clay. When the tagine is cooked and ready to be served, don’t place the pot on a cold surface (such as marble or a granite worktop) as this may create a thermal shock.

During cooking, the conical lid of the tagine allows steam to circulate inside and the condensation on the lid will drip back onto the base keeping the food moist. Some people suggest placing the tagine in a hot oven. But I think the lid will become too hot causing evaporation of the liquid rather than condensation, and the meat may become a little dry. In Morocco, a tangia / tanjia (an earthen pot which is vase-shaped, rather than a tagine) is used for stewing food in a communal furnace oven which heats water for the local hammam (public bath).

This recipe employs one of the cooking styles in Moroccan tagine cooking which is called M’charmel. It refers to the marination and cooking of meat, fish and/or vegetables with spices and/herbs. Some people may prefer to use very little spices, using just ground ginger and saffron, allowing the flavour of the meat to shine through. In this recipe, I suggest trying the iconic chermoula to provide a more vibrant flavour. Different meats require different marination times. Lamb and chicken should be marinated for at least an hour or overnight, whereas fish should be marinated for 30 minutes only. Vegetables can be cooked in the sauce without marination. The cooking times are also different for different ingredients – about 2 hours for lamb, 45-60 minutes for chicken, and varying cooking times for different vegetables.

There are other cooking styles, including (a) M’qualli – The dish is cooked until the sauce has been reduced and the oil has been separated, followed by a long sauteing process in the second stage of cooking. This is characterised by a yellow sauce which contains saffron and/or turmeric; and (b) M’hammar – This involves browning the braised meat in clarified butter over a stove top or roasting the meat in an oven at the end of cooking. This is characterised by a red sauce due to the presence of sweet paprika.

In Morocco, the tradition is to gather around the tagine and share the food together. Tagine is traditionally served with flatbreads (e.g. khobz) but not couscous. Use the bread to scoop and sop up the sauce, vegetables, and meat. Couscous is not a side dish. It is a dish on its own which is usually made of meat and vegetables cooked in a delicious broth and served on a bed of steamed semolina granules.

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

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Serves: 4 Prep Time: 30 minutes Cooking Time: 1 hour 30 minutes 1 hour 30 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium onions, finely chopped
• 1 small organic chicken (about 1.2-1.5kg), jointed
• 50ml water
• 1 preserved lemon or 2 small ones, separate pulp from skin, reserve the pulp for the charmoula marinade, skin cut into quarters
• 12 green or violet olives (soaked them in water if too salty and drained)

For the chermoula:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Pulp from 1 preserved lemon or 2 small ones, finely chopped
• A pinch of saffron threads, soaked in 2 tbsp warm water for at least 10 minutes
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground paprika
• 1/2 freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp parsley, finely chopped

Instructions

1. I suggest using an unglazed tagine to make this dish, but if a tagine is not available, use a cast iron casserole.  
2. Make the chermoula by combining all the ingredients in a large bowl.  There is no need to add salt as the preserved lemon pulp is salty. Add the chicken pieces and massage the chemoula marinade into the meat. Cover and marinate for at least an hour or overnight in a fridge. 
3. Spread the olive oil evenly on the bottom of the tagine and add the onions. This layer of onions will prevent the meat from sticking to the bottom and being burnt.  
4. Place the tagine over the stove top with a diffuser and cook the onion over low to medium-low heat until they are soft and translucent.  
5. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the onion. Add any remaining marinade and water into the tagine.  
6. Cover the tagine with the conical lid. Continue to use low to medium-low heat so that the mixture is just simmering.   
7. Cook for about 45 minutes until the chicken is very tender.  
8. Remove the lid of the tangine. Arrange the preserved lemon and olives attractively on top of the meat. Cook for another 15 minutes without the lid to allow the liquid to evaporate. The sauce should be reduced and thick. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. 
9. Serve with flatbreads (e.g. khobz). Although not traditional, if you prefer, it is not a problem to serve tagine with couscous. 

If you would like to make khobz, combine 240g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar, 1.5 tsp instant dry yeast and 150ml warm water in a large bowl. Knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball. Cover with a towel or cling film and leave to rest for 15 minutes. After resting, pat the dough ball into a flat, round disc of about 5mm thick. Cover again and leave to rise for about an hour. Test whether the dough is proofed by making a dent gently with your finger. It should spring back to its shape slowly. Preheat your oven to 200°C. Lightly score the top of the dough by poking with a fork in several places. Bake the khobz for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire cooling rack.