Chicken With Apricots Lemon And Saffron Food

BRAISED LEMON-SAFFRON CHICKEN AND POTATOES

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Using a mortar and pestle (or the bottom of a spoon and a bowl), grind the saffron threads into a powder as best you can. Add the 2 tablespoons hot water and stir to combine. Set aside.
• Place the chicken in a 9-by-13-inch roasting pan or baking dish. Cut large potatoes into 1-inch pieces and add to the pan. Drizzle the chicken and potatoes with the oil, then season well with salt and pepper.
• Add the lemon juice to the saffron water, mix to combine, then pour over the chicken and potatoes, stirring to coat. Arrange the chicken skin-side down. Sprinkle evenly with the whole black peppercorns, if using, then cover tightly with foil. (It's OK if everything is close together.)
• Cook until the meat is tender and easily pulled from the bone, and the potatoes are soft, about 1 1/2 hours. During the last 15 minutes, remove the foil, flip the chicken, stir the potatoes and cook for 15 minutes more, uncovered, to reduce some of the liquid.
• Season with black pepper and serve with rice or pita to soak up the lemony juices.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH SAFFRON AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Whisk 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, turmeric, cumin seeds, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag or container. Add chicken, coat with the paste and seal bag or container. Marinate in the refrigerator, 4 hours to overnight.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Add chicken thighs skin-side down to stockpot and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken thighs and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes more.
• Lower heat to medium and add water to cover chicken halfway, cover stockpot, and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover stockpot, sprinkle saffron threads onto chicken, and top with preserved lemon slices. Replace cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 5 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Uncover stockpot and transfer chicken to a serving platter.
• Continue simmering liquid in stockpot until thickened to sauce consistency, 5 to 7 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; top with olives, artichokes, and parsley.

GRILLED CHICKEN WITH SAFFRON AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• In a large non-stick skillet, brown chicken in butter and oil about 5-6 minutes on each side or until cooked. Add salt and pepper. Set aside on a warm plate.
• In the same skillet, brown onion and bell pepper. Add oil if needed. Add garlic and keep cooking 1 minute. Add apricots, lemon juice, honey, saffron and stir well. Add chicken broth and bring to boil. Let reduce until sauce has a texture of syrup. Adjust seasoning.
• In a bowl, mix spinach with a little bit of olive oil. Add salt and pepper.
• Slice the chicken. In 4 plates, serve the chicken on the spinach and put the apricots garnish on top.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND APRICOTS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the chicken all over with 2 teaspoons salt. Refrigerate, uncovered, at least 30 minutes or up to 8 hours.
• Meanwhile, thinly slice 1 lemon; spread out the slices and sprinkle generously with salt on both sides. Stack the slices on a plate and let stand at room temperature, at least 20 minutes and up to 3 hours.
• Pat the chicken dry. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat and add 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add half of the chicken, skin-side down; cover and cook until the skin is golden brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a platter. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Discard the excess oil.
• Add the butter, onion, garlic, ginger, coriander, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, saffron and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper to the pot. Cook over medium heat, stirring, until the onion softens, about 5 minutes; stir in the cilantro and parsley. Push the onion mixture to one side, then add the chicken to the pot, skin-side up. Spoon some of the onion mixture over the chicken and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low; cover and gently simmer, 30 minutes.
• Meanwhile, combine the apricots, 1 cup water and the honey in a medium saucepan over medium heat; cover and cook until the apricots are plump, about 15 minutes. Uncover and cook until the liquid is syrupy, about 15 more minutes; set aside. Cook the almonds in the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until golden brown. Set aside on paper towels.
• Chop the salted lemon slices into small pieces; add to the pot with the chicken along with the olives and the juice of the remaining lemon. Cover and continue cooking until the chicken is tender, about 20 more minutes. Arrange the chicken on a platter. Top with the olive sauce, apricot mixture and almonds. Serve with couscous.

LEMON CHICKEN WITH HONEY AND SAFFRON, ELEGANT AND GOOD!

Steps:

• Quarter chicken, removing backbone. Rinse, pat dry and trim off excess fat.
• Place chicken in an earthenware cazuela that will hold it in one layer, or in an enamel or glass baking dish. Rub chicken all over with salt, cumin, ginger and coriander. Let stand for 15 minutes.
• Place lemon juice, 5 teaspoons honey and saffron in a small bowl and whisk to mix. Pour mixture over chicken. Prick chicken all over with tines of a fork, cover it with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 2 to 6 hours, turning several times. Let chicken come to room temperature before cooking.
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• Transfer chicken to a bowl, then scatter onion in cazuela. Place chicken on top of onion and brush it with remaining 1 teaspoon honey and olive oil.
• Bake chicken for 20 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees and continue baking chicken until it is cooked through, 30 to 40 minutes longer. (To avoid overcooking the breast halves, remove them after 30 minutes.).
• Stir in sesame seeds, return breast halves to cazuela and bake for 5 minutes longer. Serve chicken straight from the cazuela.

IRANIAN CHICKEN WITH TURMERIC, SAFFRON, AND LEMON JUICE

Steps:

• Rough chop the onion and place in a large pot.
• Add chicken on top.
• Season with salt and pepper.
• Add turmeric.
• Add 1/2 cup of water.
• Cover and cook for 30 minutes, or until chicken is cooked all the way through. 10 minutes into the cooking, give the whole pot a stir to allow the turmeric to coat the chicken and onions.
• If you choose to use fresh lemon juice, squeeze your lemons now.
• When the chicken is done, remove it from the pot and keep warm.
• Add saffron mixed with water and lemon juice to the water remaining in your pot. Adjust seasonings if needed.
• With a hand or regular blender, process the juice and onion until nice and smooth. Let reduce for a few minutes on low hear until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes.
• Arrange your chicken in a platter and pour the sauce over the chicken.
• Serve with Iranian polo (rice).

SPANISH CHICKEN BREASTS WITH LEMON AND SAFFRON

Steps:

• TO MARINADE:
• Season the chicken breasts with salt and freshly ground black pepper and place in a dish together with the rest of the marinade ingredients. Mix together well, then cover and place in the fridge to marinate for two hours, turning the chicken breasts over from time to time.
• TO COOK THE CHICKEN:
• Preheat the oven to 180C/365F/Gas 4.
• Heat a large ovenproof frying pan until hot, then add 90ml/3fl oz of the olive oil, the shallots, carrots and asparagus and gently fry over a low heat until the vegetables are barely softened, remove the vegetables from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the remaining 30ml/1fl oz of olive oil to the pan and heat.
• Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat dry. Add the chicken breasts to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes on both sides, until golden-brown all over.
• Remove from the heat and return the vegetables, then, using a fine sieve, strain the marinade over the chicken and discard the solid marinade ingredients.
• Transfer to the oven and cook for one hour, or until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has reduced by half. About 15 minutes before the end of cooking time, pour in the saffron and its soaking liquid.
• To serve, remove the chicken from the oven and place onto plates. Place spoonfuls of vegetables alongside and spoon the sauce over. Garnish with freshly grated lemon zest sprinkled over the top.