Chicken Tagine with Olives & Preserved Lemon

I had a good deal shopping last weekend. I went to Winners, just looking around in their kitchen section, and it was there!! A nice, medium size “Tagine” was sitting on the shelf, waiting for me. It has a black base and a cute orange colour lid. The deal was the price…$25cad only. Isn’t it cheap??
Tagine is a type of earthenware pot that’s used to prepare traditional Moroccan dishes, made with meat and vegetables. It cooks on low heat and gives nice flavors to food. Check it out!!

I soaked it in water for 30 minutes, as it says on the label and let it dry over night. Sunday morning, I was so excited to try my tagine. So I made a chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemon (I am lucky; I can find preserved lemon in a Greek grocery store, downtown). If you don’t have preserved lemon, use whole thin slices of regular lemon.

Usually, this dish is made with whole chicken and goes with French fries on top, and that’s how my daughter loves it. But to make it low in fat and calories, you might want to use chicken breast only and you skip the fries or maybe, add some mashed or baked potatoes on the side.

 

Note: If you don’t have a Tagine pot, Cast iron casserole works great as well.

Ingredients: (4 servings)

4 small chicken breasts

1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/3 cup parsley, finely chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, minced
1-2 tbsp olive oil
1/2tsp ground ginger
1tsp curcuma
Pinch of turmeric
Salt & pepper to taste
½ cup kalamata olives, pited
Rind from 1 preserved lemon, cut into 4 slices

Directions:

In a large bowl, place chicken and add garlic parsley and all the spices. Add 1/2 cup of water and mix well to coat chicken breasts with the spices. Set aside.

Heat the olive oil in the tagine pot (or a cast iron casserole). Add onion and sauté over medium heat few minutes.

Add chicken with the water to the pot and bring to a simmer.

Turn the chicken pieces over and add olives and preserved lemon, then lower the heat to low, cover, and cook for about 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and tender. The sauce has to be thick.

Enjoy!!