Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives

Last Updated on October 25, 2022 by Carne Diem

Protein:

Origin: Moroccan, African

Method: Stovetop

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Morocco makes some of our absolute favorite North African cuisine. They just seem to have a way of perfectly blending flavors and spices. This tangy and tender Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives is the perfect stovetop recipe for an easy week night meal. Exotic spices and olives blend perfectly with preserved lemons in this classic Moroccan dish.

Making the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives

Gather your ingredients

This dish comes together with primarily easy to find ingredients with a couple exceptions. For fresh produce you will need a large yellow onion or 2 small white onions depending of preference. You will also need garlic and ginger to add to your marinade. Finally you will need a little cilantro for garnishing the dish.

Chicken selection

To make the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives you will need about 2 pounds of chicken thighs. This works out to about 5-6 bone in thighs. You could easily use the same recipe with up to 3 pounds of thighs of you are feeding a little bit bigger group. You may use skin on or off for this recipe. Some people even prefer to start with skin on to get that added flavor, then remove the skins midway through the cooking process. I defiantly prefer leaving the skin on but the kids prefer skin off, so we typically do a mixture of both.

Olive Selection

You will also need about 16 olives (about a ½ cup or slightly more). We typically use a mixture of green and Kalamata olives for this recipe. If you have access to a Middle-Eastern or Mediterranean market, look for cracked green olives. You will want pitted olives or you will need to pit the olives yourself. A cherry pitter works great for this purpose.

Preserved lemons

The preserved lemons may by the one tricky item to locate depending on where you live. Preserved lemons are very popular in Moroccan cuisine and add a great flavor to the dish that is difficult to reproduce without them. We have seen them from time to time at Whole Foods and specialty food shops, or they can be purchased off Amazon.

Prepare your spice mix

To make the seasoning mix for the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives you will need saffron, cayenne, black pepper, allspice, coriander, cumin, turmeric, paprika, and a cinnamon stick. If you have access to it, you can also add in fenugreek seed, but this can be left out if you can't find it. We are essentially making a basic Moroccan spice mix referred to as Ras el Hanout. This literally translates to "head of the shop" as it typically includes a mixture of the shop owner's finest spices.

Combine the spice mix ingredients in a small bowl and mix to combine. Set aside.

Prep your ingredients

Next prep your ingredients by thinly slicing the onions. Halve the preserved lemons and remove the pulp to a cutting board.

Save half of the lemon pulp and finely chop it. You may discard the other half. Reserve the lemon peels.

Marinate the chicken

In a large bowl add the chicken thighs, along with the onions, lemon pulp, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and spice mix. Mix well to combine. Marinate the chicken, covered, at room temp for 1 hour.

Cooking the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives

Heat 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil in a pan and heat over medium heat. Remove the chicken from the marinade and brown both sides of the chicken thighs, about 3-5 minutes per side, or until golden brown.

Remove the chicken from the pan and drain any excess fat but don't wipe the pan.

Place the onions and remaining marinade ingredients in the pan and cook over medium heat until the onions are softened, about 7 minutes.

Deglaze the pan with about ½ cup of the chicken stock, breaking up the browned bits stuck to the pan. Add the chicken back to the pan, skin side down,. Next, add additional chicken stock to cover about ⅔ of the chicken.

Simmer the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives

Bring the mixture to a boil then reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, flip the chicken over. Add the lemon peel and the honey and stir to combine. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes.

At this point you may choose to remove the chicken skins. It is perfectly ok to leave them on (I prefer them left on).

Add the olives to the pan and cook for 15 minutes to allow the sauce to thicken some.

Turn off the heat and garnish the Moroccan Tagine Style Chicken and Olives with cilantro.

Serve with couscous or quinoa, or even over rice. Don't forget the Jalapeno-Cilantro Hummus as a side or appetizer.

For more Middle Eastern or Mediterranean inspired dishes be sure to check out our Lebanese Baked Kibbeh: Kibbeh Bil Sanieh, Traditional Turkish Pide: Turkish Flatbread Pizza, and Smoked Moussaka.

Have leftover olives or love them as much as we do? Give our Keshi Yena: Aruban Meat Stuffed Cheese, Argentinian Empanadas with Beef Tenderloin, Spanish Inspired Pasta Salad, or Uruguay’s Chivito: The Ultimate Steak Sandwich a try.

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