Photo: Moroccan Chicken Tajine Recipe
Ingredients
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
- 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- 1 large Spanish onion, grated (about 1 cup)
- 2 tablespoons canola, grapeseed or olive oil (not a heavy olive oil)
- 1 to 2 preserved lemons, depending on size
- 8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin
- Stems from the parsley and cilantro, tied with twine
- 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron or 1/4 teaspoon powdered turmeric and 4 strands saffron
- 1 cup pitted green Moroccan or Greek olives
- 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
- 1/2 bunch cilantro, about 1/4 cup chopped
Directions
In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.
Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. RESERVE the lemon peel for later use.
Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)
In a large Dutch oven or casserole, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.
Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most.
Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn't look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
- A viewer, who may not be a professional cook, provided this recipe. The Food Network Kitchens chefs have not tested this recipe and therefore, we cannot make representation as to the results.
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By IritJ
on May 10, 2013
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I have made this three times; first time was so so and after that I nailed it. This is what I did: I marinated the chicken for the recommended 24 hrs in the same bowl that I mixed the spices and oil. When ready to cook I spread some cilantro and parsley stems on the bottom of the cast iron pan, put the chicken over them and threw in the olives after rinsing them well and soaking them in boiling water for about an hour. in the same bowl that I marinated I disolved the saffron and tumeric in some hot water, added room temp water and poured over the chicken and olives. I also cooked the tajine longer then the recipe recommends, leaving it in a low oven for an extra hr to hr and a half.
By tamarina7_11761163
Brooklyn, NY
on November 26, 2012
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Very good recipe. I highly recommend to marinate the chicken overnight. I see in past reviews that some people thought it was oversalted, but I didn't find that to be the case. However, salt is very personal, so use your best judgement. The reason I gave it 4 stars is because I thought the recipe needed a kick...I would add red pepper flakes. Serve this dish with basmati rice. This is definately a delicious recipe
By mikeyxlanes
Charleston
on November 14, 2012
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ok, i saw this a few days ago on BC. It looked really good and im always a sucker for lemons. I followed the recipe exact with 2 exceptions, i cut back on the salt seeing the other reviews, i thought this best, second, on the olives, i could not find any that were not stuffed, so i opted for greek olives stuffed with garlic and onion since the flavors were already there, i dont think it made much of a difference. all in all it was good, i have never had anything from moracco to really base an opinion on flavor. But i found this to be a little bland, it was screaming for a little heat, maybe next time ill dice up a pepper or two. like all things its personal taste, and i see a lot of things i can tweak with this dish. Thank you Ina
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