Chicken Tagine with Lemon and Olives

The word ‘tagine’ refers not only to the dish itself, but also the unique pot it’s cooked in. A traditional tagine dish is made from glazed clay, (which needs to be soaked in water before each use) and has a conical lid that allows the steam to circulate inside during the cooking process, resulting in wonderfully tender meats, aromatic vegetables and sauce.

Making this dish in a proper tagine certainly adds to the authenticity of it, but if you don’t have a tagine you can use any large, thick-bottomed, casserole pan with a lid.

One of the star flavours of this chicken tajine is preserved lemon. You can buy these at any good deli, but given their cost,  why not make them yourself - they are really simple to make and are a great ‘foodie gift’.

Ingredients

Chermoula Marinade

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1/2 bunch coriander
• 1/2 bunch flat leaf parsley
• 3 heaped tsp Herbies Chermoula Mix
• 1/2 cup olive oil

Chicken Tagine

• 1 whole chicken cut into serving portions, or chicken marylands, or thigh cutlets, bone in
• 1 red onion, sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tomato, cut into 8th’s
• 1/2 cup pitted green olives
• handful, raisins
• large pinch saffron strands, soaked in 2 tbs boiling water
• 1 preserved lemon, rinsed in cold water, pulp discarded, rind finely chopped
• juice 1/2 lemon
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1/2 bunch coriander stems & leaves to serve
• handful sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Method

Chermoula marinade

1. In a food processor add all the ingredients, except the olive oil, mix until finely chopped.
2. Now add the olive oil slowly down the chute until a moist paste is formed.

Chicken Tagine

3. Heat a little olive oil in the tagine and brown the chicken pieces over medium heat. Remove.
4. Add the onions, garlic and tomatoes and saute for 2 minutes, or until just starting to soften. Mix in the remaining chermoula marinade.
5. Arrange the chicken pieces on top of the onion and tomato mix.
6. Add the saffron and it’s soaking water, chicken stock, lemon juice, olives, raisins and preserved lemon. Season well with black pepper and sea salt. Bring to a slow simmer.
7. Cover the tagine with the lid and cook on a very low heat for about 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not stir.
8. To serve, top the tagine with fresh coriander and sliced almonds.
9. Thick Greek yoghurt also makes a nice addition.