Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon & Olives
A Moroccan classic: chicken slowly braised with saffron, ginger and onions until falling off the bone, finished with the bright, salty tang of preserved lemon and green olives. Fragrant, golden and made for mopping up with bread.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Coat the chicken
Mix the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, saffron water, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, half of the herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Rub this mixture all over the chicken. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge for more flavor.
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 pinch, steeped saffron water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 bunch cilantro and parsley
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 8 pieces chicken
✅ Done when: chicken is fully coated in the marinade
Cook the onions
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or (at least 5 liters, 24-26cm wide) over medium heat. Add the grated onions and a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden - this becomes the sauce.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 1 pinch salt
✅ Done when: onions are soft and golden
Cook the chicken slowly
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Add lemon and olives
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Finish and serve
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Coat the chicken
Mix the garlic, ginger, turmeric, cumin, saffron water, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, half of the herbs, and a pinch of salt and pepper in a large bowl. Rub this mixture all over the chicken. Let it sit for at least 15 minutes, or overnight in the fridge for more flavor.
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 pinch, steeped saffron water
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1/2 bunch cilantro and parsley
- to taste salt
- to taste pepper
- 8 pieces chicken
✅ Done when: chicken is fully coated in the marinade
Cook the onions
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pot or (at least 5 liters, 24-26cm wide) over medium heat. Add the grated onions and a pinch of salt, and cook for 10 minutes, stirring often, until soft and golden - this becomes the sauce.
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 2 large onions
- 1 pinch salt
✅ Done when: onions are soft and golden
Cook the chicken slowly
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Add lemon and olives
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Finish and serve
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The Story Behind the Dish
A tagine is both a dish and the vessel it's cooked in: a shallow earthenware base topped with a tall, conical lid. Slow-cooking in clay pots has deep roots among the Amazigh (Berber) peoples of North Africa, and over the centuries Arab, Andalusian and Ottoman influences layered in saffron, ginger, cinnamon and the Moroccan love of sweet-savoury contrasts.
Chicken with preserved lemons and olives — known in Morocco as djaj mqualli — is one of the great classics of the imperial cities' kitchens, especially Fez. The lemons are packed in salt and their own juice for weeks until the peel turns soft, silky and intensely fragrant.
Today, tagines bubble over charcoal in market stalls and home kitchens across the country, each family with its own balance of spice.
⭐ Why It's Famous
This tagine captures what makes Moroccan cooking special: gentle, layered spicing rather than heat, and the unmistakable perfume of preserved lemon — an ingredient that has spread from Moroccan kitchens to chefs worldwide.
💡 Fun Fact
The tagine's cone-shaped lid is a clever piece of engineering: steam rises, condenses on the cool upper walls and drips back down onto the food, so very little water is needed even for long cooking.
Fez & Marrakesh, Morocco
34.02°N, -5.01°W
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