Chicken Tagine
Chicken Tagine is a traditional Moroccan dish made with chicken, spices, olives, and preserved lemons, easy to prepare yet impressive.
Equipment
- Dutch oven
Ingredients
Spices
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Main Ingredients
- 1 whole lemon zested
- 5 cloves garlic minced
- 8 pieces bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs about 4 pounds, trimmed of excess skin and fat
- Salt and ground black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion halved and cut into ¼-in-thick slices
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1.75 cups chicken broth
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut crosswise into ½-inch-thick coins
- ½ cup Greek cracked green olives pitted and halved
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
Instructions
Cooking Steps
- Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon. Combine 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove; set aside.
- Season both sides of chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pan over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down in a single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip the chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
- Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have browned at the edges but still retain their shape, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, honey, remaining lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken (with any accumulated juices) back in, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
- Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes more.
- Stir in the olives, reserved lemon zest-garlic mixture, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve with couscous.
- Note: Don't fret too much over trimming the chicken thighs. The skin gets removed midway through the cooking process and most of the fat will cook off and get drained.
- Make-Ahead: After you have completed the step of cooking the carrots, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm on the stove until the chicken is heated through, then proceed to the step where the olives and remaining ingredients are added.
Notes
Cracked green olives are olives that have been ‘cracked’ or split open before curing, allowing the brine or marinade to penetrate. You can find them in your supermarket’s olive bar, or substitute any green olive that you like.
Nutrition
Serving: 1chicken thighCalories: 367kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 47gFat: 13gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 215mgSodium: 794mgFiber: 2gSugar: 7g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!