Moroccan Chicken with Preserved Lemon and Green Olives

dairy free egg free nut free

I am currently fortunate enough to have a jar of home-made preserved lemons given to me by the lovely Sheena, as well as a monster barrel of Spanish green olives. This means I have made this dish twice now and I look forward to enjoying plenty more!  I don't have a tagine, but a Le Creuset dutch oven or any heavy bottomed stove top pot is perfectly acceptable. This is truly a delicious combination and is considered to be Morocco's national dish.

It's so damn good, even the baby was smacking her lips!

Serves 6

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 cup flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
1 cup coriander, finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp saffron threads (or if you don't have them, turmeric)
1/2 cup olive oil
1 large chicken jointed, or 8 chicken thigh fillets
2 onions, thinly sliced
juice of 2 lemons
1 preserved lemon, cut into strips
20 green olives
(I peeled the olives - you could leave them whole if you don't mind navigating the pips while eating, or you could use pipped olives)
To serve: steamed couscous

Place garlic, parsley, coriander, cumin, ginger, ground coriander, saffron/turmeric and half the oil in a large bowl and combine well. Add chicken and coat with marinade. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Heat remaining oil over medium heat in a tagine or large dutch oven/casserole dish, add onion and lemon juice and saute for 5-7 minutes or until softened. Transfer to a bowl. Remove chicken from marinade and saute for 5-7 minutes or until golden brown. Return onions and remaining marinade to pot, cover with 200ml water. Bring to boil then simmer over low heat for 50-60 minutes. Stir in preserved lemon and olives and simmer for another 15 minutes or until sauce thickens and chicken is tender.

Serve with couscous.

Recipe courtesy of Gourmet Traveller.