Some dishes teach you patience, and this tagine is one of them. Chicken simmered low and slow with ginger, saffron, and a hit of preserved lemon until the sauce turns thick and glossy and the whole kitchen smells like a spice stall.
Djej mqualli, chicken with preserved lemon and olives, is one of the classic Moroccan tagines, and a good next step after chechebsa and harira (recipes on the site). It feels special but is nowhere near as fussy as it sounds.
Preserved lemon is the key: salty, floral and intensely lemony without the sourness. Serve it with warm bread for scooping up every bit of sauce.
Moroccan Chicken Tagine Recipe
What you need
Ingredients
- For the chicken:
- 1 whole chicken (about 4 pounds), cut into 8 pieces, or 4 pounds bone-in chicken thighs and drumsticks
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large yellow onion, grated or finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 2 cups chicken broth or water
- For finishing:
- 1 preserved lemon, pulp removed, rind thinly sliced
- 1 cup green olives (such as picholine or castelvetrano)
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
- 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
Cook along
Instructions
- Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper.
- Heat the olive oil in a large heavy pot or tagine base over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 6 minutes.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, and saffron; cook 1 minute until fragrant.
- Nestle the chicken pieces into the pot along with the cinnamon stick. Turn to coat in the spiced onions.
- Pour in the broth, bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over low heat 35 to 40 minutes, turning the chicken once, until tender and cooked through.
- Uncover and add the preserved lemon rind and olives. Simmer uncovered 10 more minutes to let the sauce reduce slightly.
- Remove the cinnamon stick, stir in the cilantro and parsley, and taste for salt.
- Serve hot with warm bread or couscous to soak up the sauce.
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