Tantalizing Tagine

Winding through Ait Ben Haddou at night, we zipped to our hotel's kitchen for a demonstration on how to make a delicious chicken, lemon and olive tagine. It was incredibly nice of the hotel and kitchen staff to host the demonstration for us as we arrived later in the afternoon than planned. With our late arrival, we wouldn't have the time to tour the ksar and make it back in time for cooking. But our ever-accommodating guide asked the staff if they would be willing to let Ang and I have a quick demo later in the evening. So it turned into a private class!

We were informed beforehand that it was a cooking demonstration and not a class, so the rest of our group opted out. I still had fun and learned a lot despite it being slightly less hands on than a full-fledged cooking class. Without further ado, here's the recipe and instructions for a basic chicken tagine.

Lemon, Olive and Chicken Tagine

You will need a cooking tagine (or a Dutch oven). This recipe serves 1-2 people.

Ingredients:

• 2-4 chicken pieces
• Turmeric 1 tsp
• Paprika 1 tsp
• Garlic 1 tsp (more if you like)
• Cumin 1 tsp
• Ginger (powdered or fresh) 1 tsp
• Salt 1 tsp
• Pepper 1/2 tsp
• Onions, chopped
• Carrots, sliced thick
• Potatoes, sliced thick
• Zucchini, sliced thick
• Tomatoes, sliced thick
• Green olives
• Preserved lemon
• Parsley, fresh and chopped

Instructions:

• In the base of the tagine, arrange your chicken in the centre.
• Add onions (or don’t because they are yucky)
• Add the spices (turmeric, paprika, garlic, cumin, ginger, salt, pepper)
• Add a healthy amount of olive oil (2 tbsp to 1/4 cup)
• Cook on an open flame for 10 minutes
• Mix the tagine - flip the meat, stir the spices, coat the meat
• Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water
• Remove tagine from heat and add vegetables (carrots, potatoes, zucchini), arranging them in a tent around the meat
• Add tomatoes, preserved lemon slice to top of pile
• Sprinkle chopped parsley on top
• Add olives around the base
• Add more water (1/4 to 1/2 cup) and stick a spoon between the tagine base and lid (to allow pressure to release)
• Return to low heat
• Add water periodically and let cook for 45 minutes to an hour

Eat, enjoy and cheers! Bessaha!

After making this at home a couple times, I’ve found you can cut back on the water if you’re using a Dutch oven. Also, I’ve roasted lemons to caramelize them instead of preserving them and it’s delicious.