Chicken Tagine with Olives and Lemon
The combination of the tangy preserved lemon and salty olives match perfectly with chicken. I used a whole chicken cut into pieces/ portions. (Portioning a chicken is easier that you think - watch a video here with the added bonus of the back bone to make stock.) However, you could also use approx. 1kg chicken legs and thighs.
Ingredients
- 1 free-range chicken cut into 8-10 portions (I cut the breasts in half)
- 1 large onion sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 tsp honey
- Salt and pepper
- Approx. 1 cup kalamata olives or black olives
- 2 preserved lemons cut into thin slices
- Chopped fresh coriander to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven 180C.
- Prepare the chicken and place in a large bowl. Arrange the sliced onions in a baking dish. Combine the olive oil, spices, garlic, honey, salt and pepper in a jug. Pour over the chicken and use your hands to massage the flavours into the pieces. Arrange evenly and snugly on top of the onions. Bake for 1 hour.
- Scatter the olives and preserved lemon slices over top of the chicken and return to the oven for a further 20-30 minutes until the chicken is cooked and golden on top. Serve with millet* (or couscous for traditional Moroccan) and chopped fresh coriander.
Notes
*How to cook Millet: I like to use millet as it is gluten-free, highly nutritious and is an alkalizing food. Cook as you would white rice. Wash 1 cup millet in a sieve and combine with 2 cups water in a saucepan. Add a generous pinch of salt. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes. DO NOT lift the lid or stir while the millet is cooking. Remove from the heat, again do not stir, leave the lid on and steam for a further 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and serve. This technique can be used to cook perfect white rice, millet, quinoa and buckwheat.