Chicken, preserved lemons, olives and spices make a classic Moroccan tagine. This recipe takes the same ingredients but I’ve cooked them in a slightly different way. Here I used a whole butterflied chicken but you could just as easily use whole leg legs. It’s a very easy recipe and can be cooked in the oven or under a lidded BBQ.
- Ingredients (serves 4)
- 1 whole butterflied chicken or 4 whole chicken legs
- Up to 2 cups chicken stock
- 2-3 tbsps olive oil
- 4-5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
- Handful of black or green olives
- 1 preserved lemon, flesh discarded, rind finely chopped
- 3-4 fresh bay leaves
- ½ tsp sweet smoked paprika
- 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander and ground ginger
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- Salt and pepper
- Sprig of fresh coriander including the roots
- 1-2 tbsps finely chopped coriander
Heat the oven to about 180°C.
Place the chicken in an oven dish. Combine the stock, olive oil, garlic, olives and lemon. Pour over the chicken. The liquid should come about ½way up the chicken.
Tuck the bay leaves and coriander sprig under the chicken. In a small bowl or cup combine salt and pepper and paprika, cayenne, ground cumin, ground coriander and ground ginger. Sprinkle this mix over the chicken.
Bake for 45-60 minutes or until the chicken is cooked. Before serving the chicken sprinkle it with a little finely chopped coriander.
Serve with couscous or steamed rice and a green vegetable or salad.