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Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Cauliflower, Olives, and Lemon

Chicken thighs braised with cumin, turmeric, and ginger until the cauliflower goes creamy, finished with torn olives, lemon juice, and a great deal of cilantro.

By Camille McLaughlin, RDN, LD, registered dietitian nutritionist

Built forAnti-InflammatoryLunch
Also fits Low-Glycemic Low-Added-Sugar Mediterranean Balanced Low-Carb
Cauliflower goes gold in the turmeric broth and turns creamy at the center while the florets still hold together. Chicken thighs braise down until they pull apart against a spoon, torn olives drop their salt into the pan, and lemon juice and a fistful of cilantro go over the top at the last second, cold against everything hot.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe

I cook this on Sundays when I want the kitchen to smell like cumin for the rest of the afternoon. It follows the shape of a Moroccan tagine, where meat and vegetables cook slowly in a shallow pan with very little liquid and the spices go in early enough to lose their edge, but it uses a heavy skillet with a lid because most of us do not own the clay pot. Thighs are the right cut for it. They stay juicy through a braise, they taste of more than breast meat does, and they shred into the sauce in a way that makes every spoonful savory.

The technique is worth understanding because it is what keeps the cauliflower from turning to mush. Everything browns first, in stages, so the pan builds color before any liquid touches it, and then the braise is short and shallow: barely an inch of broth, lid on, fifteen minutes or so. The florets sit half in and half out of the liquid, which means they steam and roast at the same time and come out tender without collapsing. The zucchini goes in for the last few minutes only, and the olives at the very end so their salt stays distinct rather than dissolving into everything.

It eats like a pot of many small pleasures: the soft edge of a cauliflower floret, a whole chickpea, a piece of chicken that gives way completely, and then the sharp salty hit of an olive. Cilantro and lemon at the end keep it from ever tasting heavy, which is the difference between a spiced braise that feels like lunch and one that puts you to sleep. I make a full pan even when I am cooking for two, because the leftovers are the reason I started making it in the first place.

Golden chicken pieces and cauliflower florets stained yellow with turmeric, chickpeas and half-moons of zucchini between them. Save
Prep: 20 minsCook: 35 minsTotal: 55 minsMakes: 4 servingsServing: about 2 cups

Ingredients

Serves4Amounts change with the number. The nutrition panel is per serving, so it stays the same.
  • 1 1/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 medium head cauliflower (about 1 lb trimmed), cut into small florets
  • 1 1/4 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 medium zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into thick half-moons
  • 1 medium yellow onion, halved and sliced thin
  • 1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives, torn in half
  • 1 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 1/2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro, stems and all
  • 3 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
  • scant 1/4 tsp fine sea salt

Instructions

  1. Season and brown the chicken: Pat the chicken pieces dry and toss them with half the salt. Heat 1 tbsp of the olive oil in a wide skillet or braiser over medium-high until it shimmers, then add the chicken in a single layer and leave it undisturbed for three to four minutes, until the undersides are deep gold. Turn the pieces, give them two minutes more, and move them to a plate. They will not be cooked through yet.
  2. Color the cauliflower: Add the remaining oil and the cauliflower florets to the same pan, cut sides down where you can, and cook for five to six minutes without stirring much, until several faces are well browned. This is where most of the flavor of the finished pan comes from, so let them sit and take on real color.
  3. Bloom the spices: Push the cauliflower to the edges, add the onion to the middle, and cook for three minutes until it softens. Stir in the garlic, ginger, cumin, and turmeric and cook for one minute, stirring constantly, until the whole pan smells warm and the spices coat everything in a yellow film.
  4. Braise: Return the chicken with any juices, add the chickpeas and the broth, and bring it to a simmer. Cover and cook over medium-low for fifteen minutes, then uncover, stir in the zucchini, and simmer for five to seven minutes more, until the cauliflower is tender at the center, the zucchini is just soft, and the liquid has reduced to a thick sauce that coats the back of a spoon. The chicken should reach 175°F and pull apart easily.
  5. Finish with olives, lemon, and herbs: Take the pan off the heat, scatter over the torn olives, and stir in the lemon juice and the remaining salt. Let it sit for two minutes so the olives warm through, then pile the cilantro and parsley over the top and bring the pan to the table.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per recipe
Serving sizeabout 2 cups
Calories413
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 20g26%
Saturated Fat 4g22%
Trans Fat 0g
Cholesterol 140mg47%
Sodium 515mg22%
Total Carbohydrate 24g9%
Dietary Fiber 7g25%
Total Sugars 7g
Includes 0g Added Sugars 0%
Protein 36g
Vitamin D 0.1mcg1%
Calcium 106mg8%
Iron 4.7mg26%
Potassium 946mg20%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Values are computed from USDA FoodData Central and are estimates. Per serving (about 2 cups).

Variations

  • Preserved lemon: Rinse and finely chop a quarter of a preserved lemon and stir it in with the olives for the salty, floral note a Moroccan cook would reach for first.
  • With turkey: Cubed turkey thigh takes to this braise beautifully and needs about five minutes longer under the lid.
  • Green beans and peas: Trade the zucchini for a couple of handfuls of green beans, added with the chickpeas so they have time to soften.
  • Warmer spicing: Add half a teaspoon of ground cinnamon and a pinch of cayenne with the cumin for a rounder, sweeter, hotter pan.
  • All vegetables: Leave out the chicken, double the chickpeas, and use vegetable broth for a pan that still eats like a full plate.

Storage & Leftovers

This keeps four days in a sealed container in the refrigerator and is a rare braise that does not go dull. The cauliflower drinks up the turmeric broth overnight, the chicken keeps softening, and the olives stay distinct, so each portion still has sharp salty pockets in it.

Reheat it covered in a skillet over medium-low with a splash of broth or water, five or so minutes, stirring gently so the florets stay whole. Add fresh lemon juice and new herbs after reheating, since both fade in the refrigerator and they are what make the pan taste alive.

It freezes for up to three months, though the zucchini softens noticeably. If you plan to freeze half, leave the zucchini out of that portion and add it when you reheat. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm it on the stove rather than from frozen.

Notes & Tips

A few notes from my kitchen, mostly about browning things properly before any liquid arrives, and about how little broth this actually needs.
  • Brown the cauliflower properly: Five minutes of stillness against hot metal gives the florets a nutty, toasted edge that fifteen minutes of braising can never produce.
  • Keep the braise shallow: An inch of broth is enough. Cover the vegetables completely and you are boiling them, and the sauce will not reduce in time.
  • Grate the ginger on a rasp: Chopped ginger leaves fibrous threads. Grated, it melts into the sauce and its heat spreads through the whole pan.
  • Tear the olives, do not slice them: Torn halves hold their brine and land as distinct salty bites. Sliced thin, they disappear into the sauce and you lose the contrast.
  • Use the cilantro stems: The stems carry more flavor than the leaves and chop finely. Save the whole bunch and use everything above the roots.
  • Taste before the last of the salt: The olives, the broth, and the chickpeas all bring salt of their own. Season at the very end, once the sauce has reduced and concentrated.

Nutrition & Mindful Eating

A gold, spice-heavy braise built on browned chicken thighs, cauliflower cooked until creamy at the center, and chickpeas that thicken the sauce as it reduces.
  • The chicken thighs, the chickpeas, and the two pans' worth of vegetables share the work here. The thighs carry the protein and the richness, the chickpeas add both protein and fiber while thickening the sauce, and the cauliflower and zucchini give the pan its volume.
  • Cauliflower browned before it braises tastes nutty rather than watery, and those pale florets carry vitamin C and a useful amount of fiber for something so mild and easy to eat.
  • Chicken thigh is a darker, looser-grained cut that stays juicy through a long cook, and it brings iron and zinc along with protein dense enough to make this a full midday plate.
  • Turmeric, cumin, ginger, and garlic go into the oil together, which is how their flavors spread through everything. Turmeric is where the gold color comes from, and the curcumin behind that color has been studied for the way it calms irritated tissue.
  • Olives torn in at the end and lemon juice stirred in off the heat are the two sharp notes in an otherwise soft pan. The olives bring their brine and the monounsaturated fat that olive oil brings too, and the lemon keeps every spoonful tasting bright.
  • As you eat, look for the pieces of cauliflower that took the most color in the pan, notice where the olives land against the sweetness of the spices, and let this be a meal you sit down for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use chicken breast?

You can, with one change to the timing. Cut it into large chunks, brown it, and then add it back for only the last eight minutes of the braise, cooking to 165°F. Breast meat left in for the full fifteen minutes goes stringy, and the sauce is what suffers, since it stops picking up flavor from the meat.

Everything turned to mush. Where did I go wrong?

Almost always too much liquid or a lid left on too long. The braise should be shallow, with the cauliflower sitting half above the broth, and the pan comes uncovered for the last stretch so the sauce reduces. Small florets also break down faster, so keep them at about an inch and a half.

Can I make this ahead for lunches?

It is one of the best make-ahead pans I know. Cook it fully, cool it, and divide it into four containers with the herbs held back in a small bag. Scatter fresh cilantro over each one as you reheat it and it tastes freshly made on day four.

What can I use instead of fresh ginger?

Half a teaspoon of ground ginger stirred in with the cumin does the job, though the flavor is warmer and less bright. A strip of lemon zest added with the broth gives you back some of the lift you lose.