Braised Moroccan Chicken and Olives
The inside of a preserved lemon, rarely used, can be very gelatinous. But it's easy to scoop it out, and can even be pushed out with your fingers.
A study in yellow.
Somehow, Merrill is always stuck with browning duty. Amanda claims it's because she's so good at it. Mhmmm.
We at food52 want to know if there's anyone out there who actually enjoys picking, washing, drying, and chopping herbs. If so, you're hired. Kidding. Kind of.
Author Notes: This flavorful dish was inspired by two of my favorite Moroccan ingredients- olives and preserved lemons. They work beautifully together in this dish to add a ton of flavor to the sauce. In addition, braising the chicken makes the meat wonderfully tender and juicy. Serve this dish over a bed of couscous to soak up all of the delicious sauce. —Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
Food52 Review: This is a pitch-perfect take on a classic dish. Sonali assembles a mouth-tingling spice mixture of ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cayenne, saffron and then adds green olives and preserved lemons to the party. The chicken is browned in oil (it's worth taking your time with this step, as you don't want it to burn) and then coated in the spice base before simmering gently in chicken stock until tender. Adding the lemons and olives towards the end helps retain their integrity and perfume. You may want to discard some of the fat after browning the chicken (this will depend on the meat you buy) -- we kept about 2 tablespoons. And couscous is a must. We used our favorite Israeli couscous (which Amanda blogged about a while back) and it was such a perfect foil for the rich, spicy sauce that we couldn't resist forking up every last grain. - A&M —The Editors
Serves 4
- 4 tablespoons canola oil
- 2.5 pounds chicken legs and thighs
- Kosher salt
- Black pepper
- 1 1/2 cups small diced onion
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 2-3 cups chicken stock
- 1/4 teaspoon saffron
- 1/2 cup green olives, rinsed
- 2 preserved lemons, pulp removed; rind cut into strips
- 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
- Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a Dutch oven or large, deep skillet or over medium high heat. Dry the chicken pieces and season them with salt and pepper. Place them in the skillet in batches and brown on all sides. Remove the chicken and place on a plate.
- Add the onion to the skillet and cook until slightly softened. Add the ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, paprika, turmeric and cayenne pepper and stir together. Add the chicken pieces and stir to coat with the spice mixture. Pour the chicken stock into the skillet so that 2/3 of the chicken is submerged. Add the saffron and stir to combine. Bring liquid to a simmer, cover the skillet and simmer on medium low heat 20-25 minutes. Add the olives and preserved lemons. Cover and cook another 10 minutes or until chicken is cooked through. Remove the chicken and turn the heat to high. Cook for another 6-8 minutes until sauce reduces slightly. Stir in the cilantro. Adjust seasoning to taste.
- Serve chicken on a bed of couscous. Spoon sauce over the top. Garnish with cilantro.
- Your Best Stew with Olives Contest Winner!
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3 months ago Stephanie B.
I've made this several times. It's earned a place in my rotation, it's absolutely one of my favorite chicken stew type recipes. I think what really makes it for me is the preserved lemons. I make these ones: https://food52.com/recipes.... I think they're absolutely worth the 4-5 day wait. They make this recipe and if you can plan to make the lemons the rest of the recipe comes together quickly. I use a different type of olive than the usual green, I wish I remember what they're called, but they're more round and a brighter green with a more mild flavor.
4 months ago Gina B
This is my new fave recipe. I use Smoked Paprika Dolce and half the cayenne. Also add 1 TB honey to balance. And reduce the sauce! Excellent flavor.
6 months ago liz
I have a few picky white-meat eaters coming to dinner. Do you think this could work with breast meat on the bone or cut into chunks?
6 months ago liz
nevermind! comments answered my question :)
6 months ago Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
I was going to say definitely bone-in chicken breast so that it doesn't dry out :)
6 months ago mizerychik
You might also want to brine the white meat ahead of time. A lemon zest and cumin brine would definitely add moisture and great flavor to the chicken breasts.
6 months ago girlwithaknife
Made this tonight as written except I subbed fresh lemon zest for preserved lemon, and added more zest and juice at the end. Served with roasted cauliflower and dinner was SO good!! Not exactly a weeknight meal as it took at least 45 minutes but I think it would freeze great.
6 months ago girlwithaknife
We had the chicken with naan. So good that we saved the sauce and added the cauliflower to it. Will add chickpeas for another meal!
10 months ago CanadaDan
I made this without saffron since i didn't have any, and replaced the coriander with parsley and it was beyond good. Super easy and quick and packed with flavour, i wouldn't have changed a thing. thanks!
11 months ago Yayita
I absolutely plan to make this again because it was delicious despite some deviations: 3lbs of chicken instead of 2.5, skinless thighs, using 2 cups of beef broth instead of chicken (didn't have chicken), and adding slices of lemon as I didn't have preserved lemons. Every time I reheated it for lunch my coworker would say it smelled good and tasted even better the following day. And to top it off, my BF, picky eater that doesn't like "sauces" said that it was the type of food he could keep eating. This one is keeper! Thanks :D
about 1 year ago Janet
I found this bland, probably because there was too much broth. I might try it again but will really scale back the liquid. The chicken thighs I used cooked really quickly after browning; next time I might try removing the skin and dredging them in chickpea flour to reduce the fat and provide some thickening to the sauce. I like the idea of adding apricots.
12 months ago Christina S Ooi
I just made this and it was out of control flavorful (and I'm used to eating heavily spiced food). I used skinless chicken thighs. I also used a Dutch oven that had a loose fitting lid so I ended up skipping the last step of reducing the sauce. I'd definitely try it again if you fancy!
about 1 year ago linda
thank you for sharing! we took this stew and a large bowl of couscous and had a mini dinner party al fresco last night. it was wonderful.
about 1 year ago ghainskom
Reminiscent of poulet yassa. But the spices blend lends it another dimension. Yummy, really.
over 1 year ago juleeclip
Made this last night and it was fantastic. I too could not get ahold of preserved lemons and so I sliced two lemons very thinly, put them on a baking sheet with parchment paper, olive oil, salt and roasted at 350 for about twenty minutes and then chopped them up and it worked perfectly. Great recipe and easy enough for weeknights.
over 1 year ago Beth Kohl
Thanks, Sonali. I used fresh lemon juice and it was absolutely delicious. I'm going to make sure to try it the way you intended - if it was this good without the preserved lemons, I can't imagine how insane it is with them.
over 1 year ago Beth Kohl
I'm in the middle of cooking this for dinner but just discovered I'm out of preserved lemons. Will regular, fresh ones do? If so, any suggestions?
over 1 year ago Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
Sorry, just saw this. How did the dish turn out?
over 1 year ago CristyLeeNYC
I made this this past weekend and realized too late that I was out of preserved lemons. I took fresh ones, sautéed them in a skillet w some light tasting olive oil, and then added a little salt and roasted them in an oven at 350 for maybe 1/2 hour-45 min. Included the juices, removed pulp. I was surprised how well it worked. (This dish is a go to for our household and the preserved lemons are one of my fav elements, to put this in perspective) Hope this helps anyone in the same predicament in the future!
over 1 year ago Dylan
My girlfriend and I have probably made this 10 times, it's one of our favorites! I've found that adding a cup of white wine when you toss in the onions helps build up the base really well.
over 1 year ago Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
White wine is a great idea!
over 1 year ago danielle ward
Ive made this 2x in the past 2 months and its such a hit I am making it again tonight. Great flavors!
over 1 year ago jbfalise
Sooooo good!
over 1 year ago mizerychik
I really like this with a bag of frozen artichoke hearts added to it. They work nicely with the garlic, lemon, and olives.
over 1 year ago Josie Marsh
Where do people buy preserved lemons? I know I could make them myself, but I'm looking to simplify a bit.
over 1 year ago Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
You can find them at stores like Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or Williams Sonoma. You can even buy them online at Amazon.
about 1 year ago Janet
You can make them easily and keep them in the freezer. I used a New York Times recipe on the Cooking blog.
almost 2 years ago Food63
This has been part of my regular rotation ever since the first time I made it (seriously, we LOVE this). It's delicious! My only changes consist of including about 15 halved dried apricots and a 15.5 oz. can of rinsed chickpeas when I'm adding the olives and preserved lemon. If you have all the ingredients, it's a quick easy and very tasty meal. And if you're lucky enough to have leftovers, they're equally delicious the next day.
over 1 year ago Sonali aka the Foodie Physician
I'm so glad to hear it! I love your addition of apricots and chickpeas- I'll have to try it out!
almost 2 years ago Sf2oak
has anyone tried the trader joes preserved lemons? if so what do you think?
about 2 years ago Grace Harper
This was soooooooo fantastic!!! I made it with Ina Garten's Moroccan couscous and they paired perfectly together! I used 4 chicken legs but in my opinion the sauce can accommodate 6. Great recipe!
Showing 31 out of 175 comments