The most popular tourist destination in Morocco is the famous blue city Chefchaouen, the dream of all photographers and Instagram divas. Painting their houses in 50 shades of blue, the city’s residents hardly thought about what would attract the attention of the whole world. They just wanted the blue colour of the city to remind them of the sky and of God. The most popular dish in Chefchaouen are salted lemons and traditional tagines with them. Here’s an original recipe from one of the locals, Karim Bennani.
The most popular tourist destination in Morocco is the famous blue city Chefchaouen, the dream of all photographers and Instagram divas. Painting their houses in 50 shades of blue, the city’s residents hardly thought about what would attract the attention of the whole world. They just wanted the blue colour of the city to remind them of the sky and of God. The most popular dish in Chefchaouen are salted lemons and traditional tagines with them. Here’s an original recipe from one of the locals, Karim Bennani.- Prep time: 40 minutes + 4 hours’ marinating
- Cook time: 40 minutes
- Serves: 6
- Difficulty: medium
- Course: main course
- Cookware: tagine
- Cuisine: French-Moroccan
Ingredients
- 12 chicken thighs, bones removed
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, grinded
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp saffron
- 4 onions, peeled, cut into 12 wedges each
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 250 ml water
- 1 salted lemon, cut into wedges
- 200 g green olives
- 1⁄3 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
Cooking method
Step 1
For the spice paste, mound garlic and salt on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife. Transfer to a large bowl, add cumin, turmeric, paprika, 3 tbsp olive oil, and stir. Add chicken, mix with marinade so that it covers it completely. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
Step 2
Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in tagine and fry the chicken over medium heat until golden brown on all sides in several stages, 4 pieces at a time. Remove the chicken, set aside and add the onion, saffron, salt, and pepper to the tagine. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender.
Step 3
Return chicken to tagine, add lemon and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 40 minutes.
Step 4
Remove tagine from heat, add olives, coriander, stir and serve.
My tips and tricks:
Tagine is a very beautiful cookware. A real art object 😊 You can cook in it both on direct heat and in the oven. But it will work “correctly” only with direct heat – we need a temperature difference between the bottom of the tagine and the lid. Then the moisture evaporating from the cookware settles on the inside of the lid and flows back. Due to this “water circulation in tagine”, the dish turns out to be rich in taste and does not lose its aromas. Remember, it’s better not to open the lid until the very end of the cooking process.
Alexander Skokov’s wine recommendations:
Oriental spices are the main part of tagine. As a pair to this dish, I recommend SHABO Traminer Reserve dessert wine, its high acidity successfully combines with fatty dishes. The sweetness of this wine perfectly balances the “perfumery” of tagine.
- 12 chicken thighs, bones removed
- 6 cloves of garlic, peeled, finely chopped
- 2 tsp cumin seeds, grinded
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp saffron
- 4 onions, peeled, cut into 12 wedges each
- 5 tbsp olive oil
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1 tbsp salt
- 250 ml water
- 1 salted lemon, cut into wedges
- 200 g green olives
- 1⁄3 bunch of coriander, finely chopped
- For the spice paste, mound garlic and salt on a cutting board with the flat side of a knife. Transfer to a large bowl, add cumin, turmeric, paprika, 3 tbsp olive oil, and stir. Add chicken, mix with marinade so that it covers it completely. Cover the bowl and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 hours.
- Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in tagine and fry the chicken over medium heat until golden brown on all sides in several stages, 4 pieces at a time. Remove the chicken, set aside and add the onion, saffron, salt, and pepper to the tagine. Cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are tender.
- Return chicken to tagine, add lemon and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 40 minutes.
- Remove tagine from heat, add olives, coriander, stir and serve.