Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon and Olives

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStovePot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 8 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the chicken pieces and fry 5–6 minutes, until browned on all sides.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 5
   Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, ginger, salt and black pepper and stir.
3. 6
   Add the water and saffron with its soaking water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 40 minutes.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Add the preserved lemon and olives and cook another 15 minutes.

   Stove
6. 9
   Sprinkle the parsley on top.
7. 10
   Serve the stew with couscous.