Chicken Tajine With Olives And Preserved Lemons Recipes

Steps:

• First rub the rock salt into the chicken pieces and then wash the chicken in the white wine vinegar and water. Leave for 10 minutes. Rinse and dry and place onto a clean plate.
• In a large bowl, mix the olive oil, coriander, cinnamon, saffron, fine salt, 1/2 the onions, garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, turmeric. Mix all these ingredients into the oil and crush the garlic and add a little water to make a paste.
• Roll the chicken pieces into the marinade and leave for 10 to 15 minutes.
• For cooking, use a tagine (traditional Moroccan dish) or a deep, heavy bottom casserole dish. Heat the dish up and add 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the hot dish. Drop in the chicken and pour over the excess marinade juices. Add the remaining onions, gizzards, chicken livers, olives, and chopped preserved lemons (no pulp).
• Cook in medium hot oven (350 degrees F) for 45 minutes.
• Serve with fresh bread.

Steps:

• In a skillet over medium heat, toast the cinnamon, peppercorns, cumin, paprika, red pepper flakes, and cloves until they start to smoke. Remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder.
• In a bowl large enough to accommodate the chicken, add the oil, spice mix, garlic, ginger, cilantro, bay leaves and saffron. Mix to a paste. Add chicken, rubbing the marinade over all the pieces. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and reserve marinade. Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a tagine or large casserole over medium high heat add 2 tablespoons olive oil. Put in chicken pieces and lightly brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Add onions and cook until just starting to brown, about 3 minutes. Rinse preserved lemon well. Scoop out flesh and discard; cut peel into strips and add to pan. Add reserved marinade, olives, and chicken stock. Cover tightly and cook over medium low heat for 30 to 35 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Remove bay leaf and discard. Taste juices and adjust seasoning. Place chicken on a warm platter. Spoon juices with the preserved lemon, olives, and onions over chicken and serve accompanied by Couscous with Apricots.
• Wash lemons well and dry them. Cut 4 lemons into quarters from the top, being careful not to cut all the way through. Pack salt generously into the cuts and place lemon into a sterilized glass pint jar. Continue procedure, packing the lemons into the jar as tightly as possible. Squeeze juice from remaining lemons. Add another 2 tablespoons of salt to the jar and top off with the lemon juice, make sure the lemons are completely covered. Close the jar with a non-metallic lid and set aside in a cool, dark place or the refrigerator for one month. Preserved lemons will keep for 1 year. Refrigerate after opening.
• Yield: about 4 lemons
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: none
• Inactive Prep Time: 1 month
• Put the couscous in a medium bowl; pour the hot stock over it and stir to combine. Cover and let sit for 10 to 15 minutes. Uncover and fluff with a fork. Add the apricots, scallions, and orange juice; drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine. Garnish with chopped parsley.
• Yield: 4 to 6 servings
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Inactive Prep Time: 15 minutes

Steps:

• Season chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Heat remaining oil in a tagine over medium heat. Sear chicken in the hot oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; remove and set aside. Add onion, coriander, cumin, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape the brown bits from the bottom while stirring; add a little water if needed.
• Stir tomatoes, figs, olives, garlic, and lemons into the tagine. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the seared chicken and pour in white wine. Bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour in enough chicken broth to fill the tagine only halfway up the sides of the chicken.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the meat on the legs is no longer pink and pulls away from the bone, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove the tagine from the heat and mix in parsley. Check seasonings and serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan.
• Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan along with the onions, ginger, cinnamon and saffron.
• Cook over high heat, turning the chicken occasionally, until browned all over, about 10 minutes.
• Add the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, cilantro and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
• Reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour.
• Meanwhile, rinse the preserved lemons under running water; pat dry.
• Cut the lemons into quarters.
• Discard the pulp from one of the lemons and finely chop the peel.
• Reserve the quarters for garnish.
• Transfer the chicken to a large plate.
• Strain the cooking liquid and return it to the casserole.
• Boil over high heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
• Add the chopped preserved lemons and the olives and simmer over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
• Add the chicken pieces and simmer until heated through.
• Arrange the chicken pieces on a serving dish.
• Pour the sauce on top and garnish with the lemon quarters.

Steps:

• Chermoula Marinade: In a small bowl add saffron threads in water and allow to soak for a few minutes.
• In a food processor add all the 'Chermoula marinade' ingredients and combine until it forms a paste.
• Cover and allow 'Chermoula marinade' to stand for 30 minutes before using. (Chermoula marinade can be stored in the refrigerator for up to seven days).
• Wash and dry the chicken, then rub all over with half of the chermoula marinade and refrigerate overnight or for at least two hours.
• After marinating, cut tomato and onion into thin wedges and combine a little more chermoula marinade. Then spread the tomato and onion into the base of the tajine.
• Place the chicken pieces on top of tomato and onion mixture arranging them in the centre of the tajine.
• Coat potato wedges with the chermoula marinade and arrange the potatoes around chicken.
• Top the chicken with onion slices, then tomato slices and olives in between the potato wedges.
• Mix chopped coriander/cilantro with remaining chermoula marinade and water (you made add less water, it depends how much your tajine could hold). Pour mixture on top of tomatoes and onions.
• Top with preserved lemon wedges then cover tajine with lid. Cook on a very low gas heat for 45 minutes. Do not stir or lift the lid during the cooking process.
• Serve with suggested couscous.