Cracked Green Olives With Herbs And Preserved Lemon 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 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.

ROAST LEMON-GARLIC CHICKEN WITH GREEN OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 425°F.
• In a small bowl, mix lemon rind, juice, olive oil, herbs, salt and pepper.
• Arrange chicken in flameproof roasting pan. Spoon lemon-herb mixture over top. Place garlic around chicken, stirring to coat cloves.
• Roast in 425°F oven 40 to 45 minutes (internal temperature 170°F). Transfer chicken and garlic to platter.
• Add broth to pan. Place over medium-high heat; scrape up bits from bottom. Add olives; heat through. Pour over chicken. Top with parsley.

MARINATED OLIVES WITH LEMON AND FRESH HERBS

Steps:

• In a food processor or blender, mix all the herbs, garlic and lemon juice. Slowly add olive oil and blend. Add zest.
• Pour marinade over olives. They can be served immediately but will improve with a day to marinate.

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.

PAULA WOLFERT'S SEVEN-DAY PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Dry lemons well and cut each into 8 wedges. In a bowl toss wedges with salt and transfer to a glass jar (about 6-cup capacity). Add lemon juice and cover jar with a tight-fitting glass lid or plastic-coated lid. Let lemons stand at room temperature 7 days, shaking jar each day to redistribute salt and juice. Add oil to cover lemons and store, covered and chilled, up to 6 months.

CRACKED GREEN OLIVES WITH HERBS AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• If using uncracked whole olives, crush lightly with flat side of large knife on a cutting board. In a large bowl cover olives with cold water and soak 4 hours to remove excess salt. Drain olives well. In a bowl stir together olives and remaining ingredients and marinate, covered and chilled, at least 6 hours or overnight. Olives may be prepared 1 week ahead and kept chilled, covered.
• Serve olives at room temperature.

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.