Chicken tagine Mchermel.

02/04/20244passionfood

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Serves: Serves 4 :

Chicken tagine Mchermel, or simply chicken tagine with chermoula, is a classic Moroccan dish that I especially love. It’s a comfort food dish, like all Moroccan tagines and stews. It’s so delicious and doesn’t require much effort, but you’ll need some patience. As I always say, a good tagine needs time to cook.

This Chicken tagine Mchermel is very flavorful and doesn’t take long to prepare. The longest part is letting the chicken marinate. Ideally, let it marinate for two hours, or even overnight, so the chicken can soak up all the great flavors from the marinade. The marinade is fragrant with coriander, saffron, harissa, and preserved lemon, along with chermoula spices, including cumin, turmeric, ginger, paprika, and freshly ground pepper.

How to Make Chicken Tagine Mchermel ?

If you want tender, flavorful chicken and a tasty, creamy , thick sauce, follow this recipe closely. Feel free to send me your questions or comments!

First, prepare the marinade: in a bowl, mix the fresh herbs, crushed garlic, finely chopped preserved lemon, olive oil, saffron water, and chermoula spices. Add your chicken, cut in half, or you can use just chicken thighs or legs. Let it marinate two hours ideally overnight for the best flavour before cooking.

In a tagine or a cast-iron pot, add a bit of olive oil, roughly grated onions, and a pinch of salt. Cook for about fifteen minutes before adding the chicken. Cover and let it cook for 45 minutes. Then, add the olives and lemon juice. Allow the sauce to reduce for about thirty minutes.

Serve the tagine with some good homemade bread and Moroccan salads.

You can also find a variety of chicken recipes on the blog!

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Chicken tagine Mchermel.

02/04/2024 4passionfood

Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour 45 minutes

Serves: Serves 4 :

Ingredients :

1 whole chicken , organic, about 1kg, cut in half. Alternatively use 4 chicken legs or 8 thighs.
2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley and coriander
4 cloves of garlic, finely grated
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp finely chopped preserved lemon pulp, (you can use 1 tsp of preserved lemon paste instead)
1 tsp ginger, powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp harissa, or some espelette pepper
1/2 tsp cumin, powder
1/2 tsp turmeric, powder
1/2 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
1/2 tsp saffron threads
salt
1 tsp smen, (Moroccan preserved butter)
2 medium onions, coarsely grated
A few kalamata olives
1/2 Tbsp lemon juice
preserved lemon, Finely sliced to serve
few coriander / cilantro leaves , to serve

Method

1)
Soak the saffron in a glass of hot water (80 ml of water, no more) for about fifteen minutes.
2)
Meanwhile, prepare the chermoula or marinade. In a container or bowl with a lid, add the garlic, finely chopped preserved lemon pulp (or preserved lemon paste, I’ll share the recipe with you later), harissa or Espelette pepper if you’re using it, and the spices: ginger, turmeric, paprika, cumin, pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt.

Then, add the saffron water and 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Mix well.

Next, add the chicken (washed and dried beforehand), rubbing and pushing the chermoula between the meat and skin of the chicken.

Let it rest in the refrigerator for at least two hours, ideally overnight.
3)
The next day, take the chicken out of the refrigerator half an hour before cooking.

Grate the onions coarsely, and finely chop the leftover pieces that you couldn’t grate.

In your tagine or a cast-iron pot, add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the grated onions without their water (squeeze them before cooking them). Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and cook over medium heat for 15 minutes.

The goal here is to sweat the onions until they become translucent without browning them.

Next, place your chicken in the pot. Add about two tablespoons of water to the container to gather any remaining marinade or chermoula, then pour it around the sides of the chicken. Add the smen (Moroccan preserved butter).

Cover the tagine and cook on very low heat for 45 minutes without removing the lid.

After 45 minutes, add the washed olives and the lemon juice. Cover again and cook for another 15 minutes.

The final step is to place a wooden spoon across the pot, then put the lid back on the tagine. Let it cook for another 30 minutes or longer to reduce the sauce and allow all the liquid to evaporate. Don’t worry—the chicken will be very tender, and the sauce will be creamy and thick. Also, avoid raising the heat to speed up the process.

Adjust the seasoning if needed.
4)
Your tagine is ready when the sauce is rich and thick, and the onions are confit.

Garnish with fresh coriander / cilantro leaves and slices of preserved lemon. Serve it with some good homemade bread and Moroccan salads.

Enjoy !!