Chicken Tagine with Olives, Figs, and Preserved Lemons

This is a Moroccan-inspired braised chicken dish with olives, dried figs, and preserved lemons. This recipe is great with some broad egg noodles that have been tossed with extra-virgin olive oil and some freshly chopped parsley.

• Preparation Time: 30 mins
• Cooking Time: 1 hr 20 mins
• Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins
• Calories: 443 Calories

Ingredients

• 1 bay leaf
• salt and ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• ½ cup dry white wine
• 5 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tablespoon ground coriander
• 1 medium yellow onion, sliced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil, divided, or as needed
• 20 pitted green olives
• 1 (3 to 3 1/2 pound) whole chicken, skin removed and cut into pieces
• 3 Roma tomatoes, diced
• 10 dried figs, halved
• 2 makrut lime leaves, thinly sliced
• 1 (14 ounce) can low-sodium chicken broth, or as needed
• 1 bunch flat-leaf Italian parsley leaves

Recipe Instructions

Step 1

Season chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Step 2

Heat remaining oil in a tagine over medium heat. Sear chicken in the hot oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; remove and set aside. Add onion, coriander, cumin, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape the brown bits from the bottom while stirring; add a little water if needed.

Step 3

Stir tomatoes, figs, olives, garlic, and lemons into the tagine. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the seared chicken and pour in white wine. Bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour in enough chicken broth to fill the tagine only halfway up the sides of the chicken.

Step 4

Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the meat on the legs is no longer pink and pulls away from the bone, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove the tagine from the heat and mix in parsley. Check seasonings and serve.