Ingredients Print

Check off ingredients as you go

• 6 chicken pieces (legs, thighs)
• 3 small preserved lemons, thinly sliced
• 200 g (7 oz) green or purple olives, pitted
• 2 onions (250 g / 9 oz), thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 Tbsp olive oil
• 10 g (⅓ oz) fresh ginger (or 1 tsp ground ginger)
• 2 pinches saffron
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 500 ml (2 cups) water
• 1/2 bunch cilantro (coriander), or half cilantro and half parsley, plus a few leaves for serving
• Salt, pepper

If you change the number of serving, consider adjusting cooking times!

How to make chicken with olives and preserved lemons

1. In a large Dutch oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides. Set the chicken aside. In the same pot, add the onions and garlic. Sauté over medium heat until the onions are translucent. Add the ginger, turmeric, cumin, coriander, pepper and saffron. Stir well to coat the onions with the spices.

2. Return the chicken pieces to the pot and pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and cover. Simmer for about 45 minutes, stirring from time to time. If needed, add a little water so the sauce doesn’t reduce too much.

3. Meanwhile, rinse the preserved lemons and boil the olives for 5 minutes, then drain. After the chicken tagine has cooked for 45 minutes, add the preserved lemon pieces and the olives to the pot. Add the cilantro and/or parsley as a whole bunch and simmer for another 15 to 20 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce has reduced slightly. Taste the sauce and adjust the salt if needed (the preserved lemons and olives are already salty, so go easy).

4. Arrange the chicken pieces on a serving platter, spoon the sauce over them, and garnish with a few fresh cilantro leaves. Serve hot with Moroccan bread, couscous, or bulgur, for example.

Tips

• For an even more authentic chicken with olives and lemon, make this recipe in a tagine and cook it in the oven at a low temperature (160°C / 325°F for 3 hours).
• If you have the time, marinate the chicken with the spices and a little lemon juice for a few hours before cooking.
• Some people add a spoonful of mustard at step 2.
• The combination of cumin and ground coriander adds a depth that pairs perfectly with the tangy flavors of the preserved lemons and olives.
• Add sliced carrots, mushrooms or small potatoes to the sauce.
• If you make this chicken with olives and preserved lemons in a Ninja Foodi, Instant Pot or Cookeo multicooker, use only 250 ml (1 cup) of water and pressure cook for 15 minutes at step 2. Then proceed as described in step 3, using the Sauté mode to reduce the sauce slightly.