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Moroccan·Main Course

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon

A classic Moroccan chicken dish featuring preserved lemons, green olives, and saffron. This recipe adapts the traditional tagine technique for a standard heavy-duty braising pan, resulting in tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken in a rich, aromatic sauce that is perfect with crusty bread or couscous.

Prep

30m

Cook

90m

Total

300m

Serves

6

Method

  1. 01

    Steep the saffron in boiling chicken broth for 20-30 minutes. Meanwhile, prep the preserved lemon by removing the pulp, mincing it finely for the marinade, and slicing the peel into eight strips to be used later.

    Step 1
    Watch · 0:27
  2. 02

    Score the chicken thighs by making two deep cuts down to the bone. In a bowl, whisk together the minced lemon pulp, garlic, salt, pepper, paprika, cumin, ginger, chili flakes, cilantro, parsley, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and the steeped saffron broth. Pour the marinade over the chicken in a zip-top bag and refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.

    Step 2
    Watch · 2:29
  3. 03

    Remove chicken from the marinade, scraping excess back into the bag. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy braising pan over medium-high heat. Sear the chicken skin-side down for about 5 minutes to render the fat; remove the chicken and set aside.

    Step 3
    Watch · 4:23
  4. 04

    In the same pan, sauté the diced onion with a pinch of salt, cinnamon, and turmeric for 3-4 minutes until translucent. Return the chicken to the pan along with any accumulated juices and all of the reserved marinade from the bag.

    Step 4
    Watch · 5:31
  5. 05

    Once the liquid begins to bubble, cover tightly and reduce heat to low. Cook undisturbed for exactly 1 hour. Uncover, baste the chicken with the pan juices, and scatter the green olives and preserved lemon strips into the sauce.

    Step 5
    Watch · 6:33
  6. 06

    Cover and cook for another 15-20 minutes until the chicken is fork-tender. Increase the heat to medium-high for the final 5 minutes, basting frequently, to reduce and thicken the sauce to your preferred consistency. Garnish with fresh parsley and Aleppo pepper before serving.

    Step 6
    Watch · 7:53

From Chef John

  • “It's not really a tagine if you don't cook it in a tagine, but I don't have one and you probably don't have one.”
  • “It is actually somehow going to taste better than it smells, which seems impossible, but still true.”
  • “You are after all the dean of your chicken tagine.”