Sophie Conran’s
Chicken, Olive & Preserved Lemon Tagine
This is one of Morocco’s most loved dishes. Serve simply with couscous and a salad. This fragrant dish brings a little of the warmth and exotic flavours to your table.
The Chermoula is a popular North African marinade, mostly used for fish or seafood, but delicious with meat and vegetables. For the best results, make the night before to let the flavours infuse before cooking, but marinading is not essential.
The Marinade or Chermoula
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1 walnut-sized piece of fresh ginger, peeled
- ½ onion, peeled and chopped
- ½ a hot chili
- ½ a plum-sized preserved lemon, chopped and seeds removed
- ½ tsp ground coriander
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp sweet paprika
- A small pinch of saffron, soaked in 100ml of warm water (optional)
- 1 dried bay leaf, crumbled
- 1 large bunch of flat leaf parsley
- 1 large bunch of fresh coriander
- 25ml olive oil
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the Tagine
- 4 large chicken thighs
- A drizzle of olive oil
- 1 large onion, peeled and sliced
- 3 tomatoes, sliced
- 1 large potato, peeled and cut into cubes
- 1 plum-sized preserved lemon
- A handful of green olives
- A handful of chopped fresh coriander
Blitz all the chermoula ingredients except the fresh herbs in a food processor until it becomes a paste. Add in the chopped herbs and blitz until combined. Mix the chermoula together with the chicken in a Tupperware box and give it a good shake to thoroughly coat the chicken. Leave to marinade in the fridge.
Pour the tablespoon of olive oil into the tagine and place on a heat diffuser if you have gas, or straight onto a medium low heat if you have a hob or aga. Place the onions in the oil and fry for a couple of minutes before adding the slices of tomato. Stir the potatoes with the chicken and pour it all on top of the tomatoes. Poke the potatoes into the sauce, you may need to add a little water to make sure the potatoes are covered. Put on the lid and bring to a gentle boil for ½ an hour, stirring occasionally.
Cut the lemon into quarters, remove the flesh and discard. Cut the skin into thin slices and keep aside with the olives After the chicken has cooked for half an hour, scatter in the lemon peel and olives and continue cooking for a further 25 minutes, stirring occasionally to make sure everything cooks evenly.
Remove from the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Make the couscous and chop the coriander. Sprinkle the chicken with the chopped coriander and bring to the table.
FOR THE COUSCOUS
- 250g instant couscous
- 1 heaped tsp of vegetable bouillon
- 1 tsp of ground cumin
- A handful of pine nuts
- A handful of raisins
- A knob of butter
Heat 500ml of water in a pan with a lid until boiling. Add all the ingredients, remove from the heat and stir through.
Pop on the lid, leave for 5 minutes, then, using a fork, fluff it up so the grains separate. Serve.
Preserved lemons: lemons preserved in salt are a vital part of Moroccan cooking. They are simple to prepare and can be kept for several months.
Take 1 kg / 2 lb washed lemons. Rub them with salt and cover them with 1 kg / 2 lb salt for 12 hours. Put them in a container with salt, cover them with water, add 15 cl / 10 tablespoons vinegar to stop them from turning black, and some bay leaves. Add 10 tablespoons groundnut peanut oil, and leave at room temperature for one week.