Chicken tagine With preserved lemon and green olives
Bone-in chicken thighs gently braised with onions, ginger and turmeric, then finished with preserved lemon and green olives. Expect tender meat and a glossy golden sauce. Allow about 1 hour 50 minutes, with additional braising time if needed for tenderness.
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Servings
Originally developed for 4 servings.
Ingredient checklist
Method
- No timer needed
Slice the onions and chop the garlic. Remove the preserved-lemon pulp, rinse the rind and weigh out 40 g; cut into thin strips. Drain the olives and rinse if salty. Chop the herbs, setting aside 10 g of each for the braise and 5 g of each for serving. Prepare these ingredients before handling the chicken. Remove any chicken skin and pat the thighs dry with kitchen paper; do not wash them. Wash your hands and clean equipment and surfaces that touched raw chicken.
- No timer needed
Heat the olive oil in the casserole over a medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. Add the onions and 1 g salt; cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring, until softened but not deeply browned. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric, pepper and 25 ml of the measured water. Stir for 1 minute, keeping the spices from catching.
- No timer needed
Add the chicken and turn it through the onions and spices for 3–4 minutes; it does not need to brown. Pour in the remaining 225 ml water and add the braising portions of coriander and parsley. Scrape the base clean and arrange the thighs snugly in one layer. The liquid should reach roughly one-third to halfway up them, not submerge them. Bring to a gentle simmer, allowing about 5 minutes, then cover and lower the heat.
- 20:00
Braise gently for 40–50 minutes, with only occasional bubbles. After the first 20 minutes, turn the thighs and check the liquid; add 50 ml hot water if the base is drying or the onions are catching. Replace the lid and continue cooking. While the chicken braises, portion the bread and keep it covered, away from raw-chicken utensils. Towards the end of the braise, warm a holding dish with hot water, then empty and dry it.
- No timer needed
Check several thighs, including the largest, at the thickest part clear of the bone: they must reach 75°C held for 30 seconds, or 70°C for 2 minutes. The meat should also be tender and release readily from the bone. If either check is not met, continue the covered gentle braise in 5–10 minute increments, adding a little hot water if needed, then check again. Transfer the safely cooked, tender chicken to the warm dish and cover loosely.
- 08:00
Add the prepared lemon rind and olives to the casserole. Simmer uncovered for 8–12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the soft onions form a glossy sauce that lightly coats a spoon; start checking after 8 minutes. If already thick enough, simmer gently for just 5 minutes to warm and infuse the additions. Spoon off conspicuous surface fat if necessary. Keep the chicken covered while the sauce reduces.
- 03:00
Taste before adding any of the remaining 1 g salt; the sauce may need none. If too thick or slightly salty, loosen with 25–50 ml unsalted hot water and do not reduce further. Return the chicken and its collected juices, then heat gently for 3 minutes, or until hot throughout. Scatter over the reserved herbs and serve immediately with the bread, giving each person two thighs, olives, lemon strips and sauce.
Chef tips
- The schedule allows a typical braise and reduction. Larger thighs or a crowded pan may need additional cooking; temperature and tenderness determine readiness.
- Use a pan wide enough to hold the thighs without stacking. In a narrower pan, rearrange the pieces when turning and allow extra braising time. Do not double the recipe in the same pan.
- A loose lid or hard boil increases evaporation. Maintain occasional gentle bubbles and replenish hot water in 50 ml increments if the base starts drying.
- Reduce watery sauce without the chicken. If the sauce becomes slightly too salty, dilute and stop reducing; extra lemon will not remove salt.
- Use an earthenware tagine only if its manufacturer permits hob use and it accommodates this quantity. Follow its heating and diffuser instructions rather than treating it like a metal casserole.
Equipment check
- Heavy-based casserole or sauté pan, approximately 30 cm wide and at least 4 litres capacity, with a close-fitting lid
- Digital food thermometer
- Kitchen scales and measuring jug
- Chopping board and knife
- Tongs and stirring spoon
- Holding dish and loose cover
Tags
Behind the dish.
Overview
This hob-cooked tagine uses a covered casserole to produce tender chicken, soft onions and a glossy, spoonable sauce. Maintain a gentle simmer, then remove the cooked chicken before reducing the sauce so the meat stays moist. Preserved lemon supplies salty citrus fragrance rather than the sharp acidity of fresh lemon juice. No oven or advance marinating is needed.
Ingredient notes
Use salt-preserved lemons, not sweet lemon pickle. Remove the pulp, rinse the rind and weigh 40 g after preparation; this usually requires 1–2 lemons. Taste a small piece because saltiness varies. Choose mild green olives and rinse them if particularly salty. Water rather than stock keeps the final seasoning manageable.
Buy 1.2 kg skinless, bone-in thighs, or approximately 1.4 kg skin-on thighs and remove the skin to obtain the listed prepared weight. Drumsticks can replace thighs by prepared raw weight, but check their thickest parts for doneness. Fresh lemon is not an equivalent substitute for preserved lemon in this dish.
Bread contains wheat/gluten and may contain other allergens. Check olive and preserved-lemon labels, including for sulphites, and check any substituted bread.
Serving & storage
Serve two thighs per person with olives, lemon strips, sauce and bread for scooping. The chicken contains bones even though the olives are pitted.
Cool leftovers promptly in shallow portions and refrigerate within 2 hours at 5°C or colder. Use within 48 hours or freeze sooner. Thaw in the fridge. Reheat only once, covered with a splash of water, until steaming hot throughout, turning the chicken so it heats evenly.
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