White plate with two cooked bone-in chicken thighs sitting in a thin brown sauce with whole cracked green olives, sliced preserved lemons, fresh parsley sprigs, and plenty of spices and black pepper. Background is a decorative teal and blue woven silk fabric with leafy greenery, two fresh lemons, and a fork.
Wheel of Time

Alise’s Chicken Tagine with Olives

Zeela
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Today we visit a farm near Ebou Dar in the Westlands for dinner. The scent of chicken tagine with olives wafts over the long wooden table in the warm breeze, picking up the scents of nearby olive groves and trees full of ripe lemons. Ebou Dar has a warm enough climate that we can eat outdoors even in winter. Chickens can be heard clucking and running around freely, and the sounds of children playing games of imagination before the official dinner bell is rung. There are many friends here – the farm is a well-known women’s retreat where people come to take a break from the stresses of everyday life. Dinner is open to all, a time for celebrating friendships and found families, a time for laughter and joy. This farm is run by a group of women who call themselves the Kin, and the current head of the kitchens Alise is happy to share this recipe with anyone willing to step in and help cook, as long as we don’t repeat any rumors about magic that we might have heard about the local Healers and Wise Women.

A Dutch Oven pot stands in for the traditional tagine dish, making it easy to duplicate this memorable meal at home.

Thanks to Saveur for the recipe inspiration!

White plate with two cooked bone-in chicken thighs sitting in a thin brown sauce with whole cracked green olives, sliced preserved lemons, fresh parsley sprigs, and plenty of spices and black pepper. Background is a decorative teal and blue woven silk fabric with leafy greenery, two fresh lemons, and a fork.

Alise’s Chicken Tagine with Olives

Chicken tagine baked in a Dutch Oven results in a tender meat with rich sauce full of olives and savory spices.
5 from 1 vote
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Course Main Course
Cuisine African, Ebou Dari, Moroccan, Wheel of Time
Servings 4 servings

Equipment

  • 1 6-8 quart Dutch Oven pot

Ingredients
  

  • 3 tbsp. olive oil or avocado oil
  • 6 bone-in chicken legs or 4 bone-in chicken thighs about 2 lbs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
  • 2 large yellow onions sliced
  • 1 ½ cups chicken stock
  • 6 oz. green olives cracked
  • 2 tbsp. butter or dairy-free butter
  • 1 tbsp. finely chopped parsley
  • 2 tsp. finely chopped cilantro
  • 1 preserved lemon sliced thinly (optional)

Spice Mix:

  • 2 tbsp. ground coriander
  • 2 tsp. ground white pepper or black pepper
  • 2 tsp. ground ginger
  • 1 tsp. ground turmeric

For Serving

  • Crusty bread, couscous, or pasta (optional)

Instructions
 

  • Heat oven to 350° F.
  • Measure all spices for Spice Mix into a small bowl. Stir together. Set aside.
  • Heat oil in an 6-8–qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add to pot and cook, turning, until browned, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate. (It will not be cooked through at this point, it gets cooked the rest of the way in the oven)
  • Add onions to the hot oil in the pot; cook until golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
  • Add Spice Mix; cook for 2 minutes.
  • Return chicken to pot with stock; boil.
  • Bake chicken, covered, until tender and fully cooked, 30 to 35 minutes.
  • Stir in olives, butter, parsley, lemon (if using), and cilantro into pot, and cook for 6 minutes. Serve with crusty bread, couscous, or pasta.
Keyword dairy-free
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Zeela