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Chicken tagine with preserved lemon & olives
Djaj mqualli — Fez-style saffron and ginger chicken with preserved lemon and green olives
Few dishes say Fez quite like djaj mqualli, the golden chicken that turns up at family lunches, weddings and Friday tables across the old medina. The chicken simmers slowly in its own juices with grated onion, ginger and saffron until the meat slips off the bone and the onions melt into a thick, glossy, yellow sauce. Salty-sour preserved lemon and bright green olives go in near the end, cutting through the richness. Mop it up with crusty bread, or spoon it over plain couscous for a weekday dinner. Chef's tip: grate the onion rather than chopping it; it dissolves completely and gives the sauce its body without any flour.
- Total time
- 75 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 4
Ingredients
For the chicken
To finish
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: In a large bowl mix the grated 2 onions, 3 cloves garlic, 1 ½ tsp ground ginger, ½ tsp ground turmeric, the 1 pinch saffron threads with its water, ½ tsp black pepper, ½ tsp salt and half the 2 tbsp olive oil. Use a separate board and knife for the raw chicken.
Step 2: Add the 2 ⅞ lb chicken thighs and drumsticks and rub the mixture into every piece. Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least 30 minutes, or up to overnight; never on the counter.
30 minStep 3: Tip the chicken and all its marinade into a tagine or a wide, heavy casserole with the rest of the 2 tbsp olive oil. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, turning the pieces, until the onion starts to sizzle and smells sweet.
5 minStep 4: Pour in the 1 ¼ cups water, tuck in the bundle of ⅔ oz fresh coriander and flat-leaf parsley, and bring to a simmer. Cover and cook over a low heat for 40 minutes, turning the chicken once halfway. If you use a clay tagine, keep it on a heat diffuser.
40 minStep 5: Check the chicken: it is done when the thickest part reaches 165°F (165 °F) and the juices run clear. The meat should pull easily from the bone.
Step 6: Lift out the chicken and the herb bundle. Turn the heat up to medium-high and boil the sauce, stirring, for 6–8 minutes until it thickens and clings to a spoon. A common mistake is serving it thin; the onion should have melted into a thick golden gravy.
8 minStep 7: Stir in the 1 preserved lemon and 5 ½ oz green olives and simmer for 3 minutes. Adding them now rather than at the start keeps the lemon fragrant and stops the olives over-salting the sauce.
3 minStep 8: Return the chicken, add the 1 tbsp lemon juice, and spoon the sauce over until everything is glossy and hot, about 3 minutes. Taste before adding any more salt. Scatter with coriander and serve.
3 min
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 520 kcal
- Protein
- 46 g
- Carbs
- 10 g
- Fat
- 32 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does chicken tagine with preserved lemon & olives take?
- About 75 minutes in total: 20 minutes to prepare and 55 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 4 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it gluten free?
- Yes, as written. Check the labels on stock, sauces and spice mixes, which sometimes contain gluten.
- What can I use instead of onions?
- 2 shallots per onion.
- What can I use instead of garlic?
- ½ tsp garlic paste or ⅛ tsp garlic powder per clove.
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