This tagine smelled amazing! The herbs... the lemon... the garlic... the saffron! It all makes a great combination. And the chicken did come out nice and tender. I feel like it smelled better than it tasted though. It's not that it was bad -- it was nice. But it just wasn't as nice as I'd hoped based on smelling it during cooking.

I only used 1/3 of the oil called for in the recipe and I still found the sauce/broth to be excessively fatty. I would have preferred a thicker, leaner sauce. This produced a very brothy dish with a thick layer of fat on top.

I think, next time, I'll skin whatever chicken parts I'm using first. The recipe specifically calls for skin-on bone-in thighs, but I might want to try it with a whole chicken that's been skinned and jointed. I figure I could just reserve the back and wings for making stock and use the legs, thighs and breasts for the tagine. I might need to split the breasts since they're pretty bulky and take longer to cook, but I think that a mix of skinless parts would probably produce a better result than the fatty, skin-on thighs did.

I'd also get a different variety of olives next time. The recipe didn't specify a type beyond "green". And normally that would be fine. I'd just go out and get a generic jar of green olives and call it a day. But since they were one of the key components of this dish and since the recipe called for such a large quantity of them, I went out to look for nice imported olives. I ended up picking up a jar of Cerignola olives as they most closely resembed what was shown in the photo of the finished dish. Having now tried them, they're not my favourite olive, but I like them well enough¹. But TF really isn't a fan. I figure maybe I can look for some high-quality Manzanilla olives or go to the Halal grocery store downtown and see what types they have available. (Maybe it would make a good excuse to finally get a jar of those little grilled olives that they have!)

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemons and Olives

Slightly adapted from Dish of the Day by Kate McMillan

Ingredients

• 1/4 tsp. saffron threads
• 2 Tbsp. hot water
• 2 onions, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 c. fresh cilantro
• 1/2 c. flat-leaf parsley
• 1/4 c. lemon juice, divided
• 1 tsp. cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 2 Tbsp. garlic paste
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil, divided
• 1 small chicken (1-1.5kg), skinned and jointed
• 2 preserved lemons, thinly sliced
• 1/2 c. chicken broth
• 1 1/2 c. whole green olives

Directions

1. Pour the hot water over the saffron threads and allow to steep for 5-10 minutes.
2. Combine the onions, cilantro, parsley, 2 Tbsp. of the lemon juice, cumin, ginger, turmeric, salt, garlic, 1 Tbsp. of the olive oil, and saffron (together with its soaking liquid) in a blender or food processor and blend into a pulply purée.
3. Place the chicken legs, thighs, and breasts in a bowl and pour the marinade over them, tossing to coat. Reserve the back and wings for another use.
4. Cover and chill for 8-24 hours.
5. The next day, heat the remaining 1 Tbsp. of oil over medium-high heat.
6. Add the lemon slices and sear on both sides until browned (~2 minutes per side).
7. Remove the lemon slices from the pan and set aside.
8. Warm a tagine over medium heat. (If you don't have one, use a Dutch oven instead).
9. Add the chicken and cook for 5-6 minutes.
10. Add the chicken broth along with any residual marinade from the chicken and bring to a boil.
11. Once the sauce is boiling, cover the tagine, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (~40 minutes).
12. Meanwhile, put the olives in a small pot with enough water to cover them and bring to a boil.
13. Reduce the heat (under the olives) to medium and simmer for 5 minutes.
14. Drain the olives and set them aside until the chicken is cooked.
15. Once the chicken is no longer pink inside, add the olives and stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp. of lemon juice.
16. Add the seared lemon slices to the tagine as well.
17. Cover and continue simmering over medium-low heat until the chicken is very tender (~15 minutes longer).
18. Garnish with additional parsley and/or cilantro if desired.
19. Serve with roasted veggies and/or your preferred starch.

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¹ After they'd been boiled. I tried one straight out of the jar and it was nearly inedible, both gustatorially and physically. The flesh was hard and did not want to come away from the pit! After boiling, they'd softened considerably, the flavour was nicer, and the pit separated from the flesh much more easily. TF still wasn't a fan though. Hence the search for a different type of green olive for next time. ¹