Easy Chicken, Lemon and Courgette Tagine

A tasty tagine made with chicken, lemon and courgette, this easy dish will bring a splash of colour to your table. Aromatic spices, preserved lemons, courgettes all come together to make this a wonderfully flavoursome meal that is easy enough to be served on a week night but delicious enough for any special occasion.

One of the first cookbooks I bought here in France was a book of Moroccan recipes in the Jewish tradition. I discovered in that book a very simple way of cooking a tagine, which is the basis of this recipe. It involves no browning of the meat and, apart from the rice or couscous used to serve, it is the epitome of a one-pot meal. Here is my adaptation, using a few more spices than the original and adding some extra ingredients. I hope you love it as much as we do!

Ingredients Needed to Make Easy Chicken, Lemon and Courgette Tagine

• 1.5 kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2cm cubes
• 2 preserved lemons, chopped into 1cm pieces
• 2 courgettes, chopped into 1cm cubes
• 150g whole pitted green olives, drained (optional)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp ground turmeric
• 1 small stick cinnamon
• 500ml homemade chicken stock or water
• 1tsp salt, or to taste
• black pepper
• fresh coriander, chopped, for garnish
• rice or couscous to serve

Chicken Thighs

This is probably my favourite cut of chicken to use for this kind of stew-like dish. They remain tender even when cooked for a longer period and they contain more fat than chicken breast so they add a lot of flavour to the sauce. You can of course swap for any cut of chicken you wish: a whole chicken cut into portions, chicken thighs on the bone, chicken breast… However, I would suggest browning the meat first if you decide to use a cut with the skin on and possibly cooking for longer if the meat is still on the bone. For chicken breasts, reduce the cooking time to 20 mins, that should be plenty.

Always ensure that your chicken is cooked thoroughly before serving, it should be white all the way through.

Preserved Lemons

These lemons are salty and tangy and have a very unique flavour. They add depth to the sauce and go especially well with olives. If you are not able to get hold of any, you can substitute for one whole fresh organic lemon, pips removed, cut into small pieces. The tagine will have a more acidic flavour and the sauce will be lighter but it is still a good option, especially if someone in your family doesn’t like the flavour of preserved lemons.

Courgettes

I like to add extra vegetables wherever I can and courgettes add body to the sauce of this tagine, as well as bringing extra nutrition in the form of vitamins and fibre. They soak up all the flavour of the spices and preserved lemons and melt into the sauce. Theoretically they are totally optional, but I never leave them out!

Olives

If you wish, you can add olives. I often do but not all my children enjoy them. I prefer the flavour of green olives and I always buy them pitted just because they are easier to eat for the children (those of them that like olives, that is!). If you prefer black olives, go with them. If you prefer them with the pits in, that’s fine too. The only thing I would suggest is that you don’t use marinated olives as they will completely change the flavour of your tagine.

Fresh Garlic, Ground Cumin, Ground Coriander, Ground Turmeric, Cinnamon Stick

These flavourings are the back bone of your tagine, they are what will bring it to the next level. Of course, if you don’t have one of the spices, don’t let that stop you making this dish, it will still be delicious, but this particular mixture really pairs well with the chicken, lemons and courgettes.

As far as possible substitutions go, you can use 1 tsp garlic powder if you don’t have fresh and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon if you don’t have a stick. Here in France you can also buy a spice mix called ‘Ras El Hanout’ which is the mixture used in North Africa for seasoning tagines. Each mixture will be slightly different but you can definitely replace the cumin, coriander and cinnamon by 3 tsp of Ras El Hanout. I would still add 1 tsp turmeric even if you do this as that’s where the beautiful yellow colour comes from.

Homemade Chicken Stock

This is the subject for an article in itself! I used to buy the stock cubes available in the supermarkets until I realised three things :

1. they are full of additives and potentially have gluten, milk and potato in them, all of which are problematic in our family
2. it is really easy to make my own
3. homemade stock has a host of health benefits including anti-inflammatory properties

So, today, I make my own stock from chicken bones. I always have some in the freezer to defrost and I haven’t bought a stock cube in over a year. As long as I use enough salt (stock cubes have huge amounts of salt in the ingredients) the flavour is even better.

Want to start making your own stock? Check out this video for more. The video describes using an instant pot, but you can also make it on the stove top either in a pressure cooker or simmering for several hours in a normal saucepan.

If you don’t have any homemade stock, no worries, just use water, there is already plenty of flavour in the sauce.

How to Make Easy Chicken, Lemon and Courgette Tagine

When I said that this was an easy recipe, I really did mean it!

Step one: Prepare the ingredients (cut the chicken, chop the lemon and courgette, mince the garlic, drain the olives, if using)

Step two: Put all the ingredients into a large saucepan or dutch oven. Don’t add too much salt to begin with as the lemons and olives are already very salty. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 30 mins. Check the seasoning and add more salt to taste.

Such amazing results with such little effort, what’s not to like?

Serve with white rice or couscous and garnish with coriander and lemon slices if desired.

Did you make this Easy Chicken, Lemon and Courgette tagine? Let me know how it turned out in the comments. I Love to hear from you 🙂

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