Chicken Legs Preserved Lemons And Green Olives Food

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

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH GREEN OLIVES & PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• In a medium-sized tagine or Dutch oven, arrange chicken thighs in a single layer.
• Sprinkle the onion, cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, ½ teaspoon of the pepper, and saffron over the chicken.
• Add 2 cups of water and cover.
• If using a tagine, set it on a flame-tamer over medium heat.
• If using a Dutch oven, set it over medium-high heat (you will not need the flame-tamer).
• Bring to a boil.
• Reduce heat and simmer gently for 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, pit each olive by placing on a cutting board and smashing firmly with the flat side of a heavy knife. Discard pit.
• Add the olives, preserved lemon, and lemon juice to the tagine and cook 20 minutes more, until the chicken meat is falling off the bones.
• Season with salt and pepper to taste.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED MEYER LEMONS AND GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken dry, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then sauté chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate and keep warm, covered.
• Add remaining tablespoon oil to skillet and reduce heat to moderate. Cook onions and garlic, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add turmeric and pepper and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Scrape pulp from preserved lemon, reserving for another use. Cut rind into thin strips and add to onions with broth, wine, and olives.
• Return chicken, with any juices accumulated on plate, to skillet. Braise, covered, until chicken is cooked through, about 12 minutes. Serve sprinkled with cilantro.

CHICKEN LEGS, PRESERVED LEMONS, AND GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Generously salt chicken legs on all sides. Let stand at room temperature for 1 hour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon fat in the bottom of a stainless steel tagine over medium-high heat. Add 3 of the chicken legs and cook, turning once, 3 to 4 minutes on all sides, until well browned. Remove legs from pan and repeat process with remaining 3 chicken legs. Remove from pan and set aside.
• Discard all but 2 tablespoons fat from tagine. If fat is burnt, discard and add remaining 2 tablespoons. Place tagine over medium-high heat, stirring often and adjusting heat as necessary, until rich golden brown, about 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, remove all racks from oven except for bottom rack so that tagine will fit. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Add coriander, white pepper, ginger, saffron, and turmeric to tagine; cook, stirring constantly, until spices are lightly toasted, about 1 1/2 minutes. Return chicken legs to tagine; add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover tagine and transfer to oven; cook until chicken is tender and beginning to pull away from ends of drumsticks, about 40 minutes.
• Remove chicken legs from tagine and set aside. Return tagine to stove and simmer over medium-high heat until liquid is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 3 minutes. Season with salt. Add lemons and olive; cook until heated through. Whisk in butter and herbs.
• Arrange chicken legs on a platter and spoon sauce over them; serve immediately.

STOVETOP MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Ahead of time if possible, combine the chicken with the onion, garlic, herbs, and spices, including half of the saffron. (Reserve the rest of the saffron for adding to the sauce at a later time.) If time allows, cover and leave the chicken to marinate in the fridge for a few hours or even overnight. Otherwise, proceed to the next step.
• When ready to cook, transfer the chicken and onions (scrape every last bit out of your bowl) to a heavy-bottomed pot, deep skillet or Dutch oven. Cover and cook the chicken over medium or medium-low heat, gently stirring and turning the chicken every 15 minutes or so, until the chicken is tender enough to pinch off the bones. (This will take approximately one hour, but longer if using a free range chicken). Keep the heat adjusted so that the chicken doesn't scorch, and only add a little water if you feel you must. Typically the chicken will braise in its own juices.
• When the chicken is cooked, carefully transfer it to a plate and cover.
• Continue cooking the onion mixture and sauce over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until the liquids evaporate and the onions can be mashed into a blended mass which separates from the oils. If your onions do not appear to be melding, you can give a few pulses with an immersion blender, but do not overprocess.
• Add the preserved lemon, olives, the rest of the saffron, and a few tablespoons of water, and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Return the chicken to the pot to heat through, or place under the broiler to brown the skin.
• Place the chicken on a serving platter, pour the onion sauce over the top and sides, and garnish the top of the chicken with the quartered lemon and some olives.
• For casual meals, consider garnishing the chicken with a handful or two of french fries (patate frite), which may also be offered as a traditional side.
• Moroccan tradition is to eat by hand, using crusty Moroccan bread for soaking up the sauce.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry with paper towels. Season well with salt and pepper and place in an earthenware baking dish in one layer, skin side up. Sprinkle with red pepper, garlic, fennel and rosemary and drizzle with olive oil. Rub seasoning into thighs on all sides. Tuck lemon wedges here and there. Let marinate for 15 minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees.
• Put baking dish in oven, uncovered, and roast until skin browns lightly, about 20 minutes. Scatter olives evenly over chicken and add broth. Cover tightly and bake for 1 hour, until meat is very tender when probed with a skewer.
• Remove thighs and lemon wedges and arrange on a platter. Keep warm. Pour pan juices into a saucepan and quickly skim fat from surface. Over high heat, simmer rapidly until reduced by half. Spoon juices over chicken, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

TAKE-OUT MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS AND GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Prepare the preserved lemons as directed in the recipe.
• Pat the chicken dry, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a 12-inch saute pan set over moderately high heat. Saute the chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer the chicken to a plate and keep warm, covered.
• Add the remaining tablespoon of oil to the pan and reduce the heat to medium. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add the ginger, paprika, turmeric, saffron, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook for 1 minute, stirring.
• Add the chicken and stock to the pan, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 40 minutes, or until the chicken is tender.
• Scrape the pulp from the preserved lemons, and discard or reserve for another use. Cut the lemon rind into slivers and add to the chicken, along with the olives.
• Cook for 5 minutes, uncovered.
• Transfer the chicken to a serving dish and spoon the olives and lemons around them. Add the lemon juice, taste for seasoning, and add more salt if necessary.
• Pour the sauce over the chicken. Sprinkle with the parsley and cilantro and serve.
• Make ahead: This dish can be made up to 2 days ahead and kept covered in the refrigerator. Reheat on the stove over low heat until warmed through.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Mix garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric together. If not using kosher chicken, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pepper to taste. Rub chicken with mixture, cover, refrigerate and marinate 3 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove to platter. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to tagine, if you are using one, or leave in skillet. Add cinnamon stick.
• Put chicken on onions. Scatter with olives. Quarter the lemons, remove pulp and cut skin in strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
• Cover tagine or skillet. Place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is done. Scatter parsley on top, and serve.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH OLIVES AND CITRUS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.
• Put the chicken, olives, onion, preserved lemon, dried limes, lemon slices, oil, honey, salt, cilantro, garlic, turmeric, cumin, paprika, and chile flakes in a large bowl. Using your hands, mix everything thoroughly, making sure the chicken pieces are well coated with the spices and herbs.
• Arrange the chicken pieces skin-side down in a deep baking dish in a single snug layer. Arrange the rest of the mixture over the chicken. Whisk the stock with the orange juice in a measuring cup and pour over the chicken.
• Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and, using tongs or a couple of spoons, turn the chicken pieces skin-side up. Bake, uncovered, for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the skin is nicely browned and crackly. To check for doneness, make a small incision in the thickest part of a chicken thigh and make sure the juices run clear. If they are still pink, baste the skin with the pan juices to prevent the chicken from drying out and roast for another few minutes.
• Sprinkle with the cilantro leaves (if using) and serve over couscous.