Chicken Tagine with Olives

If there is oe dish that defines a nation its Tagine in Morocco. It’s a national dish, its a cookware and a national treasure of Morocco. We went on a vacation to this North African country a few years ago and absolutely loved our trip. The sights, history, landscape, desert adventures were breathtaking. The people are really nice, we loved the culture, colors, art and of course the food.

In Morocco every meal is Tagine, I kid you not! we were offered it everyday, and at the end of the trip I was ready for anything that’s not tagine or couscous. Don’t get me wrong we loved all the tagines, but at the end of day 10 there is only that much we could eat. Anyway I learnt a couple of Tagine recipes on my trip one by our Airbnb host and one at a class, this is my interpretation. I make it simple with chicken and olives and have veggies on the side. I find adding veggies takes away the flavor of a delicious chicken version. I do love a good simple vegetarian tagine, but for chicken I prefer serving veggies on the side. If you like vegetarian I have a recipe here. Best served with plain couscous or rice and naan.

Chicken Tagine with Olives Serves 5-6

Ingredients

• 6-8 bone in skinless chicken thighs, about 2 lbs
• 2 teaspoons garlic about 7-8 cloves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 inch fresh or 1 teaspoon ground ginger ( I prefer fresh)
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon hot paprika, (if you like a little heat)
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 medium onions, thinly sliced
• 1 cup green castelvetrano olives, pitted
• 1 lemon, peeled into thick slices (use a vegetable peeler to peel the lemon peel into thick 1 inch strips)
• 1 cup chicken stock
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 1/4 cup chopped herbs like mint, cilantro and flat-leaf parsley

Instructions

• Mix garlic, ginger, both paprikas, cumin and turmeric together with ½ teaspoon of salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Rub the chicken with mixture, cover, and refrigerate to marinate for 3 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides undisturbed.
• Transfer to plate and set aside. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes till they begin to caramelize. Add the ground cinnamon, saffron and stir to combine.
• Place chicken on onions. Scatter with olives and the lemon strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
• Cover the skillet and place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Garnish with herbs and pomegranate and serve.