TIME:
1 hour
PREP:
20 minutes
YIELD:
6-8 servings
Ingredients
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons flaky sea salt, plus more for seasoning
- 4 pounds (about 10–12 pieces total) bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs and legs
- 4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 2 scant teaspoons ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, freshly grated
- ½ teaspoon ground cardamom (or 2–3 cardamom pods)
- 3 medium onions, peeled, halved and thinly sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
- 1 piece preserved lemon, chopped to yield about 2 tablespoons, or more to taste
- 1 tablespoon harissa, or more to taste, plus more for serving
- 1 cup white wine
- 10 Omani or Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 cup Castelvetrano olives, pitted
- 1 long cinnamon stick
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- A few fresh sage leaves
- 1 small dried mild red chili
- 2 fresh bay leaves
- 12 dehydrated orange slices or 1 navel orange, washed and very thinly sliced into rounds
Directions
- Heat a Le Creuset® 7.25-Qt. Round Dutch Oven over medium. Whisk to combine flour and 2 teaspoons salt in a shallow bowl. Rinse chicken under cold water, and then pat dry completely with paper towels. Dredge chicken in flour mixture, shaking off any excess. (This should be a very fine coating; don’t let the chicken get gummy.)
- Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in the Le Creuset. When it shimmers, carefully place half the chicken in the Le Creuset, skin side down (do not crowd). Cook until skin is golden and crisp on the underside, about 8 minutes. (It should release easily from the pan when nudged with tongs.) Flip chicken and cook until skin is golden and crisp on the other side, about 8 minutes more. Transfer to a large plate. Cook remaining chicken in the rendered chicken fat. (Don’t add additional olive oil.) Transfer chicken to the plate, and carefully pour off excess fat from the pot.
- Return the Le Creuset to the stovetop and heat over medium-low. Combine all dry spices in a small bowl and set aside. Add remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and heat until just shimmering. Increase heat to medium. Add onions in a more or less even layer. Cook onions without turning, about 5 minutes, until those on the bottom are golden. Stir with a wooden spoon and continue cooking until all the onions are softened and golden. Add garlic and cook just long enough to wilt, about 3 minutes. Add preserved lemon and harissa and cook, stirring, a few more minutes. Stir in reserved spice mix. Cook about 5 more minutes, until spices are gently toasted and smell delicious.
- Deglaze the Le Creuset with the wine, spreading onion mixture out into an even layer. Return chicken to the Le Creuset, nestling pieces so they all fit snugly over onions. Add dates, olives, cinnamon sticks, thyme, sage, chili, bay leaves and enough cold water to not quite cover chicken. Season with a pinch or two of salt. Increase heat to medium-high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce heat, cover the Le Creuset, and let simmer very gently until chicken is cooked through, about 25–30 minutes. About 5 minutes before chicken is done, arrange orange slices over chicken. Serve tagine piping hot with additional chili paste, if desired.