Rabbit tanjia in a wood-fired oven: our beldi recipe for olive harvest day

When olive season starts in the countryside, the days get busy: the whole family heads out to the grove, the kids pick up olives from the ground and the adults knock the branches with sticks. A day like that deserves a proper meal. We chose a rabbit tanjia in a wood-fired oven: you prepare it in the morning, slide it into the oven, and it cooks by itself while everyone works. Here is how to make rabbit tanjia step by step, with a few words about the olive harvest in the countryside.

In this video we harvested olives and made a rabbit tanjia in a wood-fired oven. Watch it to soak up the countryside atmosphere with us, then follow the written recipe below.

The olive harvest: a whole-family job

Harvesting olives isn’t just work, it’s an occasion that brings people together. We spread tarps under the tree, gently beat the branches so the fruit falls, then gather the olives and clean out the leaves and twigs. The olives then go to the press to become oil. We tell that part of the story in The camel olive press: how beldi olive oil is made in Chiadma.

On harvest day, the right dish is one you don’t have to stand over. That’s where the tanjia comes in: it cooks slowly while everyone gets on with the work.

Why rabbit tanjia?

The classic tanjia is made with veal or lamb, like our tanjia marrakchia. But in the countryside rabbit is a common part of home cooking: the meat is light and cooks faster than veal. Slow-cooked in the tanjia with garlic, preserved lemon and smen, it turns tender, falls off the bone, and gives a thick, tasty sauce.

Ingredients

Serves 4 to 5:

• 1 whole rabbit (about 1.2 to 1.5 kg), cut into medium pieces
• 1 head of garlic, peeled
• 1 or 2 preserved lemons
• 1 tablespoon smen (traditional aged butter)
• 4 tablespoons beldi olive oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• A few threads of pure saffron
• Salt to taste (go easy, preserved lemon is salty)
• ½ glass of water
• Optional: a handful of olives

Method

1. Prepare the rabbit: wash it well, cut it into pieces and pat dry.
2. The marinade: in a dish, mix the crushed or chopped garlic, cumin, pepper, ginger, saffron, salt, smen and olive oil. Coat the rabbit pieces well. If you have time, leave to marinate for an hour.
3. Fill the tanjia: put the rabbit into the clay jar, add the chopped preserved lemon (and olives if using), then the half glass of water. Shake the tanjia to mix everything.
4. Seal it: cover the opening with baking paper, tie it tightly with string and make a small hole to let steam escape.
5. The wood-fired oven: fire the oven with wood until it is well heated, then push the embers to one side. Place the tanjia next to the embers or in the hot ashes, and close the oven.
6. Cooking: let it cook slowly for about 3 to 4 hours. Rabbit cooks faster than veal, but the time depends on how hot your oven is.
7. Serving: take the tanjia out carefully (it’s very hot), open it, tip it onto a dish and serve hot with beldi bread.

No wood-fired oven?

You can cook it in a home oven at a low temperature (about 150 °C) for roughly the same time, or in a tagine or casserole over a very low flame, adding a little water if the sauce reduces too much. The wood-fire flavour is special, but the recipe still works well.

Tips from the countryside

• Go easy on the water: rabbit releases its own juices as it cooks, and a good tanjia sauce should be short and thick.
• Good olive oil shows: in a tanjia the oil doesn’t fry, it simmers with the meat and flavours the sauce. Choose extra virgin; we explain how to spot it in Extra virgin olive oil: what does it mean.
• Salt carefully: preserved lemon and olives are already salty, so taste before adding more.
• The clay jar: if it’s new, soak it in water for a few hours before first use so it doesn’t crack in the heat.

Frequently asked questions

Can I use chicken instead of rabbit?

Yes, free-range chicken works very well in a tanjia with the same spices. Just watch the time: a supermarket chicken cooks faster, while a beldi chicken needs a bit longer.

How do I know the tanjia is done?

When you open it, the meat should be tender and come away from the bone easily. If it’s still firm, seal it again and put it back in the heat for half an hour.

What to serve with it

Tanjia is eaten by hand with oven-baked beldi bread, alongside a simple Moroccan tomato and onion salad, with a glass of mint tea afterwards. On harvest day, nothing beats a hot dish shared with family in the middle of the olive grove.

Want more countryside recipes? Try our rfissa with free-range chicken or our couscous with vegetables and tfaya.

At Chaidmia Hora we deliver beldi olive oil, pure honey, amlou and argan oil to your door, with cash on delivery anywhere in Morocco. Questions about the recipe or our products? Message us on WhatsApp: +212682077365.

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