Moroccan · Main course
Taroudant Saffron Chicken Tagine
Taroudant, the walled 'little Marrakech' of the Souss, cooks a golden chicken tagine heavy with true saffron and softened onions, finished with a drizzle of local argan oil that gives it a nutty depth found nowhere else. It is simple, elegant Souss cooking — few ingredients, all of them good.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 60 min
- Total
- 80 min
- Serves
- 4
- Level
- Easy
Ingredients
- 1 chicken, jointed into 8 pieces
- 3 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1/2 tsp saffron threads, steeped in warm water
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp culinary argan oil, to finish
- 1 preserved lemon, sliced
- 1 handful violet olives
- 1 small bunch parsley and coriander, chopped
- Salt to taste
Method
- 1
Start the base
Warm the olive oil, add the chicken, sliced onions, saffron with its water, ginger, white pepper and salt, and toss to coat.
- 2
Sweat
Cover and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, letting the onions collapse into a soft bed without browning.
- 3
Braise
Add a cup of water, cover and simmer 30 minutes until the chicken is tender and the onions are jammy.
- 4
Reduce
Add the preserved lemon and olives, uncover, and reduce the sauce to a golden, oniony compote.
- 5
Finish with argan
Off the heat, drizzle over the argan oil and scatter with the chopped herbs.
- 6
Serve
Bring to the table in the tagine with warm bread to scoop the onions and sauce.
Chef's tips
- Use culinary (roasted-seed) argan oil, not cosmetic — its toasted nuttiness is the point.
- Add argan oil off the heat; cooking it dulls the flavour.
- Real saffron steeped in warm water colours and perfumes far better than adding it dry.
Frequently asked questions
What is argan oil's flavour like?
Culinary argan oil, pressed from roasted kernels, is deeply nutty and toasty — somewhere between hazelnut and sesame. A little drizzled at the end transforms simple Souss dishes.
No argan oil — what can I use?
A good toasted sesame oil or a light drizzle of hazelnut oil gives a similar nutty finish, though neither is quite the same.