Best Preserved Lemon Chicken Tagine For The Tagine Recipes

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH GREEN OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMON

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

PRESERVED LEMON CHICKEN TAGINE FOR THE TAGINE!

Steps:

• Put the olive oil in the bottom of the tagine and gently colour the onion and minced garlic. Add the chicken pieces and seal well.
• In a large jug mix 1/2 pint of boiling water with 1 chicken cube and set aside.
• To the tagine add the ginger, ras el hanout, saffron, tomato puree and honey. Mix well.
• Add the chopped tomatoes, chick peas, stock and the apricots to the tagine and season well with salt and pepper to taste. Mix well with a wooden spoon and cover with tagine lid.
• Cook on a low heat for 2 hours. Remove the lid and add preserved lemon - rinse lemon well under cold tap. Remove and discard half of the flesh and finely slice the remaining flesh and peel. Add this to the tagine before replacing the lid and cook for a further 30 - 45 minutes or until the sauce is thick and well flavoured and chicken is ready to fall apart!
• (Add a little stock or water to the sauce if it seems a little dry or too thick. Cook a little longer of not thick enough or the chicken is not at falling point.).
• Finally serve in the tagine base dish with fresh coriander sprinkle dover the top. Serve with fresh baked bread or steamed cous cous.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE

Steps:

• Combine the spices in a small bowl and set aside. Zest the lemon. Combine 1 teaspoon of the lemon zest with 1 minced garlic clove; set aside.
• Season both sides of chicken pieces with 2 teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven or pan over medium-high heat until beginning to smoke. Brown the chicken pieces skin side down in single layer until deep golden, about 5 minutes; using tongs, flip the chicken pieces over and brown the other side, about 4 minutes more. Transfer the chicken to a large plate; when cool enough to handle, peel off the skin and discard. Pour off and discard all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the pan.
• Reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until they have browned at the edges but still retain their shape, 5 to 7 minutes (add a few tablespoons of water now and then if the pan gets too dark). Add the remaining minced garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the spices and flour and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the broth, honey, remaining lemon zest, and ¼ teaspoon salt, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to loosen any browned bits. Add the chicken (with any accumulated juices) back in, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the carrots, cover, and simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the carrots are tender-crisp, about 10 minutes more.
• Stir in the olives, reserved lemon zest-garlic mixture, cilantro, and 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice; taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with salt, pepper, and more lemon juice, if desired. Serve with couscous.
• Note: Don't fret too much over trimming the chicken thighs. The skin gets removed midway through the cooking process and most of the fat will cook off and get drained. I usually just take kitchen shears and quickly snip off any excess skin or fat. Cracked green olives are olives that have been 'cracked' or split open before curing, allowing the brine or marinade to penetrate. You can find them in your supermarket's olive bar, or substitute any green olive that you like.
• Make-Ahead: After you have completed the step of cooking the carrots, the dish can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To serve, gently warm on the stove until the chicken is heated through, then proceed to the step where the olives and remaining ingredients are added.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

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.

TAGINE OF CHICKEN, PRESERVED LEMON, & OLIVES

Steps:

• Mix the garlic, some black pepper, and a spoonful of oil.
• Rub the chicken with the mixture and set aside for a few hours or overnight.
• Heat the oil in a large dutch oven (or tagine cooking pot, if you have one).
• Fry the chicken until all sides begin to brown.
• Add spices.
• (The black pepper, ginger, and saffron are most typical. If you have no saffron, consider one or two of the optional spices, which can be added according to you liking.) Add onions.
• Stir-fry over high heat for a few minutes.
• Add chicken broth, stock, or water.
• Bring to broil.
• Reduce heat.
• Cover, but leave a crack for steam to escape.
• Simmer over low heat for thirty minutes or more.
• Add olives and preserved lemons.
• Add salt and adjust seasoning.
• Continue to simmer.
• Remove chicken and set aside.
• If necessary, bring sauce to boil, stirring continuously, until thickened.