Moroccan Chicken Tajine with Olives and Preserved Lemon
Chicken thighs slow-braised with saffron, ginger and green olives, finished with preserved lemon for a bright, savoury Moroccan classic.
This is the tajine most Moroccan households make, and its character comes from two ingredients that are hard to fake: saffron and preserved lemon. The marinade goes on first and does most of the seasoning, then the pot does the rest over a low flame for an hour with almost no attention. The olives and preserved lemon are stirred in near the end rather than at the start, because long cooking turns them bitter and flattens exactly the sharpness they are there to provide.
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How to make Moroccan Chicken Tajine with Olives and Preserved Lemon
Ingredients
Quantities scale automatically. Cooking times stay the same.
For the marinade
For the tajine
Equipment
- Tajine or heavy lidded casserole
- Small bowl for the marinade
- Ladle
Method
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1
Marinate the chicken
Combine every marinade ingredient in a bowl and rub it thoroughly into the chicken, getting under the skin where you can. Cover and leave at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerate overnight for a noticeably better result.
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2
Brown the thighs
Set the tajine or casserole over medium heat and lay the chicken in skin-side down in a single layer, without extra oil. Brown for 6-8 minutes until the skin is deep gold, then turn and give it 3 minutes more. Lift the pieces out onto a plate.
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3
Build the onion base
Add the sliced onions to the pot with the cinnamon stick and a pinch of salt. Cook over medium-low for 10-12 minutes, scraping up the spiced fond from the base, until the onions collapse into a soft golden layer.
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4
Braise low and slow
Return the chicken skin-side up and nestle it into the onions, add the stock and the tied herb bunch, and bring to a bare simmer. Cover and cook on the lowest heat that keeps it bubbling for 45 minutes. Resist lifting the lid; a tajine works by circulating its own steam.
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5
Add the olives and lemon
Remove the herb bunch and stir the olives and preserved lemon rind into the sauce around the chicken. Re-cover and cook 15 minutes more, until the chicken pulls easily from the bone.
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6
Reduce and finish
Lift the lid, raise the heat and let the sauce bubble for 5-8 minutes until it thickens to a glossy coating. Stir in the lemon juice, taste for salt, and rest 5 minutes before serving with bread or couscous.
Cook’s tips
- Bloom the saffron in two tablespoons of warm water for ten minutes and add the liquid to the marinade. Dry threads dropped into a pot never release their full colour or perfume.
- Rinse the olives well and taste one. Together with the preserved lemon they carry a lot of salt, which is why the marinade is salted moderately and the final seasoning happens at the end.
- If you are cooking in a traditional clay tajine on a gas hob, use a heat diffuser and raise the temperature gradually. Clay cracks from thermal shock, not from long cooking.
Variations
- Add a handful of blanched almonds and a spoon of honey for a sweeter, festive version.
- Layer par-cooked potatoes and carrots under the chicken so they braise in the sauce.
- Use the same marinade and method with a whole jointed chicken, or with firm white fish, cutting the braise to 20 minutes.
Storage and make-ahead
Refrigerate for up to 3 days; the flavour genuinely improves overnight as the spices settle. Reheat gently, covered, over low heat with a splash of water. It also freezes well for 3 months, though the olives soften a little on thawing.
Nutrition per serving
| Calories | 528 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 44 g |
| Carbohydrates | 16 g |
| Fat | 31 g |
| Fibre | 4 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Sodium | 940 mg |
Nutrition is estimated from ingredient averages and will vary with brands and portioning.
