Moroccan Chicken Tagine With Dates And Preserved Lemons Food

MOROCCAN CHICKEN TAGINE WITH DATES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F
• Rinse the inside and outside of the hens and pat dry with paper towels.
• Make a paste of ginger and garlic. Mix the paste with olive oil, lemon juice, honey, salt and pepper to make a marinade.
• Place the hens in the bottom of the tagine or heavy-bottomed, lidded casserole and spoon the marinade inside and over the outside of each hen. Pour in enough water or chicken stock to cover the base of the tagine, add the cinnamon stick and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat, cover with lid and transfer to the oven and roast for 1 hour.
• While the chicken is in the oven, rinse the salt from the preserved lemons and with a teaspoon scrape the pulp away and discard. Chop the lemon peel and set aside until needed.
• Remove the tagine from the oven and increase oven temperature to 450°
• Transfer the hens to a baking sheet and baste with the melted butter. Return the hens to the oven and bake until the skin is crisp and golden brown, about 5-8 minutes.
• While the hens are browning, remove the cinnamon sticks from the sauce in the dish and discard. Add the dates to the sauce in the roasting pan and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes until the dates are soft, stir in the chopped preserved lemon. Replace the birds into the tagine, garnish with the slivered almonds, cover with lid and keep warm until ready to serve. Present the dish at the table in the tagine and divide into portions. Serve with couscous or basmati rice and a green salad.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN AND DATE TAGINE

Steps:

• Cut the dates in half, discard the stone and then chop into six pieces.
• Slice the chicken into short strips.
• Heat two tablespoons of olive oil in a frying pan and stir in the onion.
• Cook until slippery and soft, then add in the pine kernels and lemon zest, salt and pepper.
• Turn down the heat and cook for about five minutes, before adding in the chicken.
• Cook until the meat is lightly browned.
• Squeeze the juice from half the lemon over the top, stir in the harissa, stock and dates.
• Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the water is reduced by half.
• You should end up with a thick, rusty coloured sauce.
• Meanwhile, prepare the couscous by placing it in a bowl and adding 300ml boiling water, remaining olive oil and salt.
• Cover and leave for 15 minutes, then use a fork to loosen the grains and mix in the butter.
• Serve the chicken mixture over the couscous, garnished with some chopped coriander and a lemon wedge.