Slow-Cooked Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Olives

Traditional Moroccan meat-and-vegetable stews called “tagines” derive their name from the pot they’re cooked in—a large, earthenware, or clay, bowl with a tall, cone-shaped lid called a tagine. Whether you use an actual tagine or not, there are two keys to making a rich, delicious Moroccan-style stew: slow cooking and lots of spices and other aromatic ingredients.

Common spices include paprika, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, saffron, and coriander along with fragrant ginger, garlic, lemon, cilantro, and parsley. Dried fruits like raisins and apricots, as well as meaty green olives, also are found in tagines. For this recipe, I served the stew over basmati rice, but couscous or other grains are common too.

Spices for Chicken Marinade

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 2 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 4 large, whole chicken legs, cut into thighs and drumsticks, skin removed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1/2-inch piece of ginger, peeled and very thinly sliced
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 3/4 cup coarsely chopped dried apricots (Turkish, if available)
• 3/4 cup medium green olives, pitted and quartered lengthwise
• zest from 1 medium lemon, trimmed into very thin strips
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 2-3 cups cooked basmati rice, for serving

Tagine Ingredients

Apricots, Olives, and Lemon Zest

Preparation

1. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Place the chicken pieces in the bowl and toss with the spice mixture to coat well. Cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours (or overnight). Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

Spice-Rubbed Chicken

1. Heat a Dutch oven (or large, ovenproof pot with a lid) over medium heat and add the olive oil. Season the marinated chicken with salt and pepper and place in the pot. Add the garlic, onion, and ginger and cook, occasionally turning and stirring, until the chicken is lightly browned on both sides, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the chicken broth, apricots, olives, and lemon zest to the pot. Reduce the heat to low and cover tightly with a lid. Braise until the chicken is tender and juicy, about 1 hour, turning a few times during cooking.

Chicken Beginning to Cook 

Stew Beginning to Braise

1. Remove the stew from the heat and stir in the cilantro and parsley.

Slow-Cooked Moroccan Chicken with Apricots and Olives

To serve, divide the rice among 4 shallow bowls. Ladle the stew overtop the rice, including 2 chicken pieces per bowl. Serve hot.