Chicken Tagine With Preserved Lemon, Olives & Apricots

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Golden hen marylands simmered with inexperienced olives, candy apricots and preserved lemon, completed with a punchy lemon and herb sauce. That is my go-to preserved lemon hen tagine, and it’s a correct ceremonial dinner dish.

My Rooster Tagine At A Look

⏱ Prepared In: 1 hr 20 minutes
🍽 Serves: 6
🌱 Food plan: Gluten-free and dairy-free (tagine itself; swap couscous for rice or potatoes to maintain the entire meal gluten-free)
💪 Diet Highlights: Excessive in protein from the hen, with further fiber from the artichokes and apricots
🥕 Primary Substances: Rooster marylands, preserved lemon, inexperienced olives, dried apricots, carrots, artichoke hearts, spices, lemons
🔥 Taste Profile: Savory and tangy with pops of sweetness, briny olives and a brilliant, punchy lemon garlic end
🧊 Meal-Prep Pleasant: Retains nicely within the fridge for 3-4 days, and the flavour solely will get higher the following day
Finest Served With: Couscous, rice or potatoes, plus steamed inexperienced beans

I like a very good hen tagine, and since I had a jar of preserved lemons within the fridge, I wished to mess around with the traditional recipe. I added dried apricots as I wished one thing candy to stability out the bitterness of the preserved lemon, and a can of artichoke hearts as a result of I like these with hen and lemon, AND they add further fiber to the dish.

The hen stew itself is pretty restrained with the preserved lemon so it doesn’t flip bitter, however then I made a separate preserved lemon and garlic sauce to spoon over the whole lot on the desk, a bit like a gremolata or salsa verde, and that’s actually the place the lemon taste shines via.

I made this for a dinner with family and friends lately, and the suggestions was so good I knew immediately it had earned its Cooked & Beloved stamp of approval, and I’m comfortable to lastly share it on the weblog.

👩‍🍳 You may also like these massive taste hen dinners:
→ Moroccan hen stew with spinach & sun-dried tomatoes
→ Soy sauce hen with ginger scallion sauce
→ Rooster shawarma with baked rice
→ Coconut hen & cauliflower rice
→ Gochujang hen
→ Rooster paprikash

What You’ll Want

Here’s what you’ll want for this preserved lemon hen tagine recipe. Discover the complete measurements within the recipe card under.

For the tagine:

Rooster marylands (thigh and leg hooked up) — bone-in and skin-on offers you essentially the most taste and that golden crust, however you might use simply thighs or drumsticks if that’s what you’ve got
Salt, pepper and turmeric — for rubbing into the hen earlier than searing
Onion, garlic and carrots — the fragrant base of the tagine
Tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika and coriander seed powder — the nice and cozy spice spine
Preserved lemon — only a small quantity goes into the tagine itself so it doesn’t flip bitter.
Rooster inventory — types the braising liquid
Dried apricots — the sweetness here’s what makes this model completely different, and I believe it actually offsets the tang and bitterness of the preserved lemon.
Inexperienced olives — briny and salty, use a very good high quality pitted selection
Lemon juice — for brightness within the broth
Marinated artichoke hearts — utterly non-obligatory, however I like including them for further fiber and a special texture

How To Make Preserved Lemon Rooster Tagine

Discover the complete recipe and dietary info under. Right here’s the final technique.

Pat the hen dry and rub every bit with salt, pepper, and turmeric.
Sear the hen pores and skin aspect down first in sizzling olive oil for about 5 minutes, then flip and prepare dinner the opposite aspect for one more 5 minutes till golden and crisp. Take away from the pan.

Cook dinner the onion and carrots in the identical pan for a minute or two, then stir via the lemon zest, garlic, tomato paste, preserved lemon and spices till aromatic.
Pour within the hen inventory, add the apricots and many of the olives, then nestle the hen again into the pot. Scatter over the remaining olives and the artichoke hearts.
As soon as it’s effervescent, scale back the warmth proper down, cowl and simmer gently for 45 minutes.
Let it relaxation for five minutes earlier than serving with lemon wedges, contemporary parsley and the preserved lemon and garlic sauce.

For the sauce, finely chop the preserved lemon till it’s virtually a purée, then whisk it with garlic, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.

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Recipe Ideas

Go straightforward on the preserved lemon contained in the tagine itself. It’s tempting so as to add extra, however an excessive amount of and the dish turns bitter slightly than tangy. The sauce is the place you get the massive preserved lemon taste.
Chop the preserved lemon for the sauce very finely, virtually to a purée, so it distributes evenly slightly than turning up in bitter chunks.
No artichokes readily available? Depart them out totally, they’re non-obligatory and gained’t change the dish a lot. Be happy so as to add different veggies like cauliflower or peas.
Swap the dried apricots for pitted dates or a handful of raisins if that’s what you’ve got.
I prefer to prepare dinner my couscous with a little bit of Vegeta inventory powder and boiling water, it offers it a extremely good savory depth.
Leftovers hold within the fridge for 3-4 days and truthfully style even higher the following day as soon as the flavors have had time to settle.
This additionally freezes nicely with out the couscous. Freeze the tagine by itself for as much as 3 months and thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating gently on the range.

Serving Options

I almost all the time serve this with couscous, because it soaks up the broth so nicely, however rice or potatoes work simply as properly if that’s what you’ve received. Add some steamed inexperienced beans on the aspect for a little bit of inexperienced, and don’t skip the preserved lemon and garlic sauce, it’s what pulls the entire dish collectively and cuts via the richness of the hen. Just a few lemon wedges and a scattering of contemporary parsley on the desk finishes it off.

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A traditional preserved lemon hen tagine with inexperienced olives and dried apricots for a contact of sweetness, completed with a punchy preserved lemon and garlic sauce spooned over on the desk. Discover step-by-step pictures under and extra recipe suggestions above.

For the preserved lemon and garlic sauce:

To make the hen tagine:

Pat the hen marylands dry and sprinkle either side with salt, pepper and turmeric. Rub it in and put aside.
Warmth the olive oil in a big heavy pot or tagine over excessive warmth. As soon as scorching, place the hen items pores and skin aspect down. Cook dinner for five minutes on medium-high, then flip and prepare dinner for one more 5 minutes, till golden and crisp.
Take away the hen from the pot. Add the onion and carrots to the leftover oil and prepare dinner for 1-2 minutes till they begin to decide up some shade.
Add the lemon zest, garlic, tomato paste, preserved lemon, cumin, smoked paprika and coriander. Stir via with the onion and carrots for a minute or so, letting the spices launch their aroma.
Pour within the hen inventory, add the dried apricots and many of the olives, and stir via. Nestle the hen items again into the broth, transferring the greens and olives round to create space. Pour again in any hen juices from the plate, then scatter the remaining olives and the artichoke hearts excessive.
As soon as the broth is effervescent once more, scale back the warmth to low, cowl and prepare dinner for 45 minutes.
Let it sit for five minutes earlier than serving with lemon wedges and the preserved lemon and garlic sauce on the aspect. I prefer to drizzle slightly sauce over the hen within the pot, then end with contemporary parsley.

To make the preserved lemon and garlic sauce:

Chop the preserved lemon, each rind and flesh, very finely till it’s virtually a purée.
Mix the lemon purée in a bowl with the minced garlic, chopped parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt. Whisk nicely. It ought to style lemony, salty and slightly garlicky, with a mild bitterness from the preserved lemon.
Put together couscous. I like to arrange mine with Vegeta inventory powder and boiling water, it offers the couscous a beautiful savoury depth.

Necessary Ingredient Ideas: Use a very good high quality briny inexperienced olive slightly than a bland canned selection, it makes an actual distinction to the ultimate taste. In case you can’t discover preserved lemon, most delis and bigger supermarkets inventory it, or you can also make your personal forward of time (it simply takes a number of weeks to treatment).
Key Recipe Ideas: Preserve the preserved lemon light-handed contained in the tagine itself and let the sauce carry the punchy lemon taste. The artichokes are non-obligatory and could be ignored with no actual loss to the dish.
Storage Ideas: Retains within the fridge for 3-4 days in an hermetic container. The flavour improves after a day or two.
Make-Forward Ideas: The tagine could be made a day forward and reheated gently on the range, which is what I usually do earlier than having folks over. The sauce is finest made contemporary, or not less than on the day of serving, so the parsley and garlic keep brilliant.
FAQs:
Can I exploit contemporary lemon as an alternative of preserved lemon? Not likely, they style fairly completely different. Preserved lemon has a fermented, salty, barely bitter taste that contemporary lemon can’t replicate. In case you’re in a pinch, add slightly further lemon zest and a pinch of additional salt, however the taste gained’t be the identical.
Is that this tagine spicy? No, it’s warmly spiced slightly than sizzling. There’s no chilli on this recipe, it’s extra in regards to the cumin, smoked paprika and coriander.
Can I make this with hen breast as an alternative? You may, however bone-in, skin-on marylands maintain up significantly better to the lengthy simmer and keep juicier. If utilizing breast, scale back the simmering time to keep away from drying it out.
Can I freeze it? Sure, the tagine freezes nicely for as much as 3 months. Freeze with out the couscous and thaw in a single day within the fridge earlier than reheating.

Key phrases: Rooster tagine, preserved lemon hen, Moroccan hen tagine, hen olive preserved lemon tagine

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