Moroccan food has always interested me as well as Middle
Eastern food due to it’s exotic use of spices,
dried and pickled fruits like Preserved Moroccan Lemons. You can
pair your preserved lemons with olives
in this traditional Moroccan tagine, which is braised.
Typically, a tagine is a rich stew of lamb, chicken, or fish, and
usually includes vegetables or fruit.
A tagine is a unique type of ceramic or clay cookware that’s
popular in Morocco. The bottom is a wide,
circular shallow dish used for both cooking and serving, while the
top of the tagine is distinctively
shaped into a rounded dome or cone.
INGREDIENTS
- 1.5 kg chicken (cut into pieces or just thighs)
Ingredients for Chicken Marinade:
- Saffron water: A large pinch of saffron + 1 cup of warm water.
You can store up to 1 month in the fridge.
We will use 1 teaspoon of saffron water. - The pulp of 1 large preserved lemon (or 2 small ones)
- A handful of fresh cilantro and parsley
- 2 large garlic cloves
- 2 teaspoons ground paprika
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon of pepper
- 2 tablespoons of olive oil
Ingredients for the tagine:
- 2 onions (grated)
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- Pinch of salt and ground turmeric
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Handful of green olives
- The skin of 1 preserve lemon (cut into quarters)
STEPS:
Preparing the ingredients
1- First, let’s prepare saffron water. Soak the saffron threads in
some warm water for 10 minutes. This method boosts the saffron
flavors and is economical as you can store this flavored water and
use it when needed.
2- Quarter the preserved lemon. Separate the pulp from the skin.
Finely chop the pulp and reserve the skin for later.
3- Finely chop the parsley and cilantro.
4- Grate the garlic cloves
Marinating the chicken
5- Now we are ready, let’s make the charmoula! In a large bowl
combine: the chopped parsley and cilantro, chopped preserved lemon
pulp, garlic, ground paprika, ginger, cumin, pepper, saffron water,
and olive oil. Mix well.
6- Place the chicken in the charmoula marinade and massage into the
flesh. I am using only chicken tights, but you can use any other
chicken parts.
7- Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or overnight.
Setting the tagine
8- Peel and grate the onions. Finely chop the leftover onion
pieces.
9- Drizzle olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and cover with the
onions.
10- Sprinkle a little bit of salt and turmeric over the onions.
11- Add the chicken over the onion bed, and cover with any leftover
charmoula.
Cooking the tagine
12- When cooking in a traditional tagine over the stove, use a heat
diffuser to avoid burning and cracking the bottom of the tagine.
It’s a must!
13- On low-medium heat, place the diffuser first, then the tagine
on top of it. Cover and cook for around 15-20 minutes until the
onions and chicken release their juices and the liquids start
simmering.
14- Then, reduce the heat to low, cover the tagine, and cook until
the chicken is tender. This can take 1 hour or more, depending on
the chicken parts and quality of your tagine. Very important – make
sure that the heat is low.
15- Add the lemon juice and green olives to the sauce.
16- Top the chicken with the preserved lemon skins.
17- Taste your sauce and add salt if necessary – we wait until the
end to add salt, because the preserved lemons in the charmoula are
already salty!
18- Do not cover the tagine, and continue cooking for another 15
minutes or so, until the liquids have evaporated and the sauce has
thickened.
