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A slow-simmered, sumptuous feast of tender chicken thighs with soft stone fruits, olives, chickpeas and Moroccan spices, chicken tagine is an easily achievable dish in a modern kitchen. Ready in around an hour and only one pan to wash up, this fuss-free recipe might even replace your weekly roast!
Too hot for tagine? Get your smoky, spicey fix with a cool and fresh Fattoush salad starring sumac.
I’m always jaw-droppingly shocked when people tell me they don’t do tagines because they are “too adventurous”. I’m sorry, what?! The truth is a traditional tagine is a simple one-pot dish. It had to be!
OK, so the word ‘tagine’ might be synonymous with adventure and the exotic, but, if Nomadic North African people can prepare it in an unforgiving desert environment, after a days’ trek, while carrying their homes on their camels, we, in our well-stocked, plumbed in, gas-lined and refrigerated kitchens certainly can too!
All the ingredients in this chicken tagine recipe are supermarket accessible, the steps are few, and you don’t need a clay tagine or an open fire (a This is an affiliate link.Dutch oven or lidded This is an affiliate link.casserole dish will do).
So, are you ready for the adventure?
Chicken apricot tagine
Tagine refers to both the culinary dish and the traditional, roof-and-chimney-shaped cooking vessel. And no, luckily, you don’t need a tagine to make a tagine!
I’ve used my trusty This is an affiliate link.Dutch oven as, although it’s not as beautifully glossy and glazed as a hand painted tagine, it does pretty much the same job. By which I mean the lid traps the moisture released while cooking so it can be reabsorbed into the dish. It’s a clever piece of self-basting engineering!
As for the dish itself, a tagine is characterised by its low-temp cooking, slowly simmered mix of meat, fruit and spices. In this chicken thigh recipe, I’ve used stewy stone fruits; apricots and prunes, tart preserved lemon, salty black olives, garlic and Moroccan spice, ras el hanout.
Ras el hanout is a blend of spices, rather than the name of one single spice. You can mix and grind your own if you know what to do, or buy an off-the-shelf packet like I did. The profile is heady and fragrant rather than fiery, making it safe for the chilli-intolerant!
I’d say apricots are a must in a tagine. Not only do they bring natural sweetness, but they melt beautifully down into the dish making a near syrup-like sauce that coats the chicken and that is irresistibly moreish over couscous.
I admit, the addition of chickpeas is my own embellishment. I’m obsessed with fibre right now and this adds a decent dose to the meal, and it works on flavour and texture levels too. I’m not sorry!
Recipe Tips and Notes
- This is a more authentic chicken tagine; typical ingredients, classic spice, but the same easy steps as my original simplified version that was previously published.
- Stick to the recipe if it’s your first foray into Moroccan food. Try it and taste it before making any swaps and subs!
- Ras el hanout is found in most supermarkets, check the spice aisle.
What goes with it
This Moroccan chicken and chickpea tagine is North Africa’s answer to a one-pot meal! I am inclined, however, to add a few extras for nutritional purposes, and because I feel the meal could do with a flash of colour.
Moroccan vegetables are mostly roots, squashes and nightshades- not very green! So, I’m going off-theme with easy-to-prepare lemon green beans. The crunch will bring a texture contrast and the lemon will echo the tagine. The light and fresh nature of a garden salad would work too.
Having said that, this gently spiced, Moroccan-inspired, two-in-one roasted vegetables and couscous dish, will hit both sides’ sweet spots; fluffy couscousy carbs and colourful peppers and red onions.
Storage and leftovers
Leftover chicken and apricot tagine will keep in the fridge in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container for 3-4 days. Reheat covered on the stovetop or in the oven, on a low to medium heat for 15-20 minutes. Add a splash of water or stock to loosen if needed.
More chicken breast recipes
Moroccan Chicken Tagine
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron casserole dish
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 8 chicken thighs
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 medium onion, chopped
- 2 tbsp ras el hanout, (Moroccan spice mix)
- salt
- 250ml / 1 cup This is an affiliate link.chicken stock
- 8-10 black olives
- 6-8 dried apricots
- 6 prunes
- 4 slices preserved lemons
- 400g / 14 oz canned chickpeas, with liquid
- 1 tbsp pine nuts
- 1 tsp sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
- Brown salted chicken breasts in 1 tbsp of olive oil in a large, deep pan for approximately 5 minutes over medium heat on each side. They will not be cooked all the way through. Remove to a separate plate and set aside.
- To the same pan add onions and sauté for 5 minutes, then add garlic and cook for a minute longer, then add the spice mix and stir to combine with the onions. Deglaze the pan with the chicken stock, the return the chicken to the pan, add the sliced preserved lemons, olives, apricots, prunes and chickpeas with their liquid, lightly stir and bring to a boil.
- Then cover it with a lid and cook in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook for 15-20 minutes longer, add the pine nuts ands sesame seeds (if using) in the last 5 minutes.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This Moroccan Chicken Tagine recipe is exciting! Couple things though, why add the liquid of the chickpeas and will fresh lemons give the same result? I’m very sodium conscious and would like to find ways to reduce it.
Hi Ania, you want to keep the liquid as it actually thickens the sauce. The fresh lemon will not give exactly the same result. The flavour of the preserved lemon is much more complex-savoury, salty, slightly floral without much acidity or bitterness. It’s a great condiment that could be used in many ways. That being said, if you can’t source preserved lemons, use the fresh ones instead.