Chicken Tagine
Aromatic chicken braise with preserved lemon and olives.
Ingredients
- 800 g Chicken thighs
- 2 Onion
- 4 cloves Garlic
- 1 Preserved lemon
- 80 g Castelvetrano olives
- 1 tbsp Ras el hanout
- 1 tsp Saffron
- 3 tbsp Extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp Salt
- 4 tbsp Cilantro (optional)
Method
- Slice the onion and garlic and rinse and chop the preserved lemon.
- Brown the chicken thighs in the olive oil over medium-high heat until golden on both sides, about 8 minutes, then set aside.
- Soften the onion and garlic in the same pot, then stir in the ras el hanout and saffron and cook about a minute until fragrant.
- Return the chicken with enough water to come halfway up, the preserved lemon, olives, and salt, and braise gently covered until tender, about 35 minutes.
- Scatter the cilantro over and serve with couscous or bread.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Chicken Tagine
Chicken tagine takes its name from the conical earthenware pot of North Africa, though the dish it produces — a gentle, aromatic braise — translates just as well to a heavy covered pot. This version is anchored by two Moroccan-pantry ingredients that give it its signature character: preserved lemon, whose salty-floral rind is nothing like fresh lemon, and briny green olives that punctuate the sauce. Ras el hanout, a complex spice blend, and a thread of saffron bloomed in the aromatics set the fragrant, layered base the chicken braises into.
The flavor is savory and warm rather than hot, balanced on the tension between the funky-sour preserved lemon and the sweetness of softened onion, with saffron lending a subtle perfume and gold color. Thighs braised gently for around thirty-five minutes turn meltingly tender, and the sauce reduces into something you'll want to spoon over everything. It's classically served with couscous to soak up the liquid, or with bread for the same purpose, and it holds well enough to make an unhurried dinner for four. Browning the chicken first and blooming the spices before the braise are what give this tagine its depth in just over an hour.
Chicken Tagine: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Chicken Tagine?
A serving has about 610 calories — 34.9g protein, 10.9g carbs, 47.6g fat, 2.9g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 34.9g of protein, roughly 23% of its calories.
Is Chicken Tagine gluten-free?
Based on its ingredients, Chicken Tagine has no gluten-containing components, so it's naturally gluten-free — as always, check that any packaged ingredients you use are certified gluten-free to be safe.
How long does Chicken Tagine take to make?
About 70 minutes start to finish, but only around 23 of those are hands-on — the rest is largely unattended cooking time you can step away from. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Chicken Tagine?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out cilantro — it's optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Chicken Tagine make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.