Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon & Olives

Ingredients

• 800 g bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
• 1 x 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 300 ml chicken stock
• Warm pitta bread, to serve
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 onions, halved and thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp ras el hanout
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 preserved lemon, pulp discarded, rind finely sliced
• 100 g pitted green olives
• 15g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
• Chopped salad, to serve

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190°C / 170°C fan / Gas 5. Mix the ras el hanout, cumin, ground coriander, and cinnamon together in a small dish. Pat the chicken thighs dry with kitchen paper — water means steam, and steam means no crisp skin — then season generously all over with salt and pepper and rub with half the spice blend.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a large, oven-safe casserole over a high heat. Lay the thighs in skin-side down in two batches — don't crowd the pan, or the skin steams instead of crisping. Leave them undisturbed for 5–6 minutes until the skin is deeply burnished and releases cleanly, flip for 2 minutes on the other side, then lift onto a plate.
3. Pour off all but a tablespoon of the fat, drop the heat to medium, and add the sliced onions. Cook for 8–10 minutes, stirring now and then, until soft, golden, and starting to catch at the edges — those caramelised edges are flavour you can't fake.
4. Stir in the crushed garlic and the remaining spice blend. Bloom the spices in the oily onions for 30–60 seconds, just until fragrant — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed spices taste of themselves, and the garlic only needs that long before it turns bitter. Don't let it burn.
5. Pour in the chicken stock and honey, scraping up every sticky brown bit from the base of the pan — that fond is the backbone of the braise. Nestle the chicken thighs back in skin-side up so the skin sits proud of the liquid, then scatter the chickpeas, preserved lemon rind, and olives around them.
6. Transfer to the oven uncovered and cook for 35–40 minutes, until the skin is lacquered and crisp and the juices run clear when you pierce the thickest part of a thigh.
7. Rest for 5 minutes out of the oven. Taste the braising juices — the preserved lemons and olives carry a lot of salt, so check before you reach for the salt cellar, then adjust. Taste again.
8. Bring the casserole straight to the table, scatter the chopped coriander generously over the top, and serve with couscous, flatbreads, or steamed rice alongside to mop up the golden broth.