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I received "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" by Claudia Roden for Christmas. This book has opened up a whole new world of amazing cuisines to explore. My recipe for Easy Middle Eastern Chicken With Lemon and Olives is inspired by and adapted from Ms. Roden's book.
Ms. Roden states that this dish is a speciality of Morocco.
If you'd like to taste and enjoy succulent and tender chicken with olives, tangy lemon, and deeply flavorful spices, then please read on!
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Why You Will Love This Recipe
You will love this recipe for Middle Eastern chicken because:
- This dish is delicious and deeply satisfying. You'll love the rich and wonderful flavors which develop over the braising period and reduction of an onion laden sauce.
- It's easy to make this dish. There is minimal prep involved and cooking is mostly hands off.
- You can bring a fantastic taste of one of the Middle East's special dishes to your table for your whole family to enjoy.
- This chicken is perfect for special occasions! It can be a centerpiece of a feast or just enjoy it whenever you want!
There's everything to love about making this easy chicken recipe which would be great paired with a beautiful Moroccan Orange Salad.
So now I'll tell you what you'll need for this amazing dish!
🥘 Ingredients
You will need the following ingredients to make this dish:
- One whole chicken
- Onions (one onion sliced, and one onion finely minced) - the onions play a key role in developing the rich flavor of the sauce created during braising the chicken
- Olive oil
- Olives (I used black olives, you can also use green olives)
- Ground ginger
- Paprika
- Cumin
- Ground Cinnamon or cinnamon stick
- Salt
- Black pepper
- Parsley (as garnish)
- Lemon - Freshly squeezed lemon juice is a key component of this dish and will give it that wonderful tangy taste we are after.
These ingredients are readily available at most grocery stores.
🔪 Instructions
Now I'll move on to the easy instructions to make this delicious meal!
You will need a large pot with a lid to make this recipe. I highly recommend using a Dutch oven if you have one available.
Begin by heating olive oil on medium heat in a pot or dutch oven that is large enough to hold a 4-5 pound chicken. Sauté the sliced onion for around 3-5 minutes until it is softened. Now add the ginger, paprika, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of the salt along with ¼ cup of water and stir for one minute to combine.
Lay the whole chicken on top of the onion and cover the pot. Turn the heat to a low simmer, and cook for 1 hr and 30 minutes.
Turn the chicken every 30 minutes during this cooking time.
At the end of the hour and a half, add the finely minced onion and ½ additional teaspoon of salt, then cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Be sure to stir the onion into the braising liquid.
Preheat your oven to 425F during this time.
Remove the chicken from the Dutch oven or pot and place it into a roasting pan. Baste it with some of the oil that you will find at the top of the braising liquid. Let it roast at 425F for around 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, so that the entire chicken is browned.
Reducing The Sauce
We will work on reducing the sauce while the chicken is roasting. Turn up the heat to medium-high, and reduce the sauce by half. This took me around 10 minutes. If you have a lot of oil, use a spoon to skim off as much oil as you would like to remove. Pour in the lemon juice and lemon pieces and stir, then add the olives.
NOTE: If you are watching your salt you can parboil the olives for a bit to remove some of the salt.
Taste and adjust for seasoning by adding additional salt or pepper if necessary.
Serve by pouring the sauce over the chicken, making sure that some olives and pieces of lemon accompany each plate. Garnish with Italian parsley and enjoy!
Ok that's it! Now get ready to enjoy an incredible chicken dinner!
Suggestions for Serving Your Middle Eastern Chicken
It's time to enjoy your delicious Middle Eastern Chicken With Lemon and Olives dish! I served the chicken with basmati rice, the king of rices! You can also serve it with couscous, the national dish of Morocco.
Most importantly, be sure to pour the rich delicious onion sauce over the chicken for maximum flavor and enjoyment!
FAQ
A tagine is a wonderful way to cook Middle Eastern Chicken. However for this recipe you can use a Dutch oven or large pot.
Be sure to store any leftovers in an airtight container in your refrigerator. This is best enjoyed within four days.
Absolutely yes! Preserved lemons would be fantastic in this recipe! I have tried to keep this recipe as easy as possible so am using regular lemon instead of preserved lemons. However, if you have preserved lemons they would be better for sure!
Some Other Recipes You May Enjoy!
Here are some other recipes that you may enjoy:
- Bright and Beautiful Moroccan Orange Salad
- Lahmajoun (Middle Eastern Pizza)
- Koshari - Egypt's National Dish!
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Cheers!
Grace
Easy Middle Eastern Chicken With Lemon and Olives Recipe
Equipment
- Dutch oven can use a large pot with a cover
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken select one between 4-5 pounds
- 2 onions 1 sliced and 1 finely minced
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 cup olives can use black or green olives
- 1 ts ground ginger
- 1 ts paprika
- 1 ts cumin
- 1 ts ground cinnamon can sub 1 cinnamon stick
- 1.5 ts salt split
- 1 ts black pepper
- ½ lemon juiced and the rind cut into small pieces after juicing
- ¼ cup Italian parsley chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Begin by heating olive oil on medium heat in a pot or dutch oven that is large enough to hold a 4-5 pound chicken. Sauté the sliced onion for around 3-5 minutes until it is softened. Now add the ginger, paprika, black pepper, cinnamon, cumin, and 1 teaspoon of salt along with ¼ cup of water and stir for one minute to combine.
- Lay the whole chicken on top of the onion and cover the pot. Turn the heat to a low simmer, and cook for 1 hr and 30 minutes. Turn the chicken every 30 minutes during this cooking time.
- At the end of the hour and a half, add the finely minced onion and ½ additional teaspoon of salt, then cover and cook for 30 more minutes. Be sure to stir the onion into the braising liquid. Preheat your oven to 425F during this time.
- Remove the chicken from the Dutch oven or pot and place it into a roasting pan. Baste it with some of the oil that you will find at the top of the braising liquid. Let it roast at 425F for around 20 minutes, turning after 10 minutes, so that the entire chicken is browned.
- Now turn up the heat to medium-high, and reduce the sauce by half. This took me around 10 minutes. If you have a lot of oil, use a spoon to skim off as much oil as you would like to remove. Pour in the lemon juice and lemon pieces and stir, then add the olives. NOTE: If you are watching your salt you can parboil the olives for a bit to remove some of the salt. Taste and adjust for seasoning by adding additional salt or pepper if necessary.
- Serve by pouring the sauce over the chicken, making sure that some olives and pieces of lemon accompany each plate. Garnish with Italian parsley and enjoy!
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