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Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons

From: theguardian.com SERVES 4-6 For tagine tips, see moroccanfood.about.com

3 tbsp olive oil
2 red onions, thinly sliced lengthways
3 garlic cloves
2 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp saffron, in a little warm water
1 tsp cinnamon
Juice of ½ lemon
2 small preserved lemons
2 tbsp chopped parsley
Small bunch of fresh coriander
6 chicken thighs
3 tbsp violet olives

Heat a tagine or heavy-bottomed shallow lidded pan on a low heat and add the oil, followed by a layer of onion. Mash the garlic with ½tsp salt and add to the pan.

Sprinkle over the ginger, saffron water and cinnamon, followed by the lemon juice, and coarsely chopped pulp of one preserved lemon and the rind of both, cut into slivers. Add the parsley and 2tbsp chopped coriander and toss it all together well.

Arrange the chicken on top and scatter over the olives. Pour 175ml water into the pan, cover tightly and simmer very gently for about 45 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

Season to taste and top with the remaining coriander, chopped.

A note – in Morocco, tagines are generally served with bread, couscous being a dish in its own right.

Tagine of chicken with preserved lemons and olives

This recipe is from Claudia Roden’s book Arabesque and is also available on BBC Food. I have always treasured her cookery books and my copy of A Book of Middle Eastern Food is completely dog eared and stained.This was the book from which I learned to make couscous, pitta bread, hummus and baklava, and heard about rosewater and Imam Bayildi for the first time.She included poetry and wisdom from the East and wrote with an exotic passion that struck my youthful heart and made my mouth water. The original recipe for this tagine includes artichokes which weren't available at the time. From: bread-water-salt-oil.blogspot

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, crushed
½ tsp crushed saffron threads or saffron powder
¼-½ tsp ground ginger
1 chicken, jointed
salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ lemon, juice only
2 tbsp chopped coriander
2 tbsp chopped parsley
2 small preserved lemons, peel only
12-16 green or violet olives, either stoned or left whole
In a wide casserole or heavy-bottomed pan that will fit the chicken pieces in one layer, heat the oil and add the onions. Sauté, stirring over a low heat, until softened, then stir in the garlic, saffron and ginger.

Add the chicken pieces, season with freshly ground black pepper, and pour in about 300ml/10fl oz of water. Simmer, covered, turning the pieces over a few times and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry.

Lift out the breasts after 20 minutes and set aside. Continue to cook the remaining pieces for another 25 minutes, then return the breasts to the pan.

Stir in the lemon juice, coriander, parsley, preserved lemon peel and olives. Cook slowly until the sauce reduces a little. Check for seasoning – the preserved lemons may have given all the saltiness required. Serve with the olives and lemon peel on top of the meat.

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon

From gourmet.com
Serves 4

1 teaspoon saffron threads
3½ pound chicken, cut into quarters
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium red onions, sliced lengthwise
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon lime juice
4 tablespoons chopped cilantro, divided
2 preserved lemons, about 4 ounces each
1/2 cup purple Moroccan or Greek olives

Lightly toast saffron in a dry small heavy skillet over moderately low heat, shaking skillet, until just fragrant, about 1 minute. Transfer saffron to a small dish, let cool, then crumble with fingers.

With a mortar and pestle, mash chopped garlic to a paste with 1/2 tsp salt.

In a 12-inch tagine or shallow, covered casserole, or 12-inch heavy skillet, toss chicken with oil, onions, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric , lime juice, 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro,1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper and reserved saffron. Arrange chicken pieces over onions in tagine.

Cut preserved lemons into quarters and scrape pulp from peel. Coarsely chop pulp and sprinkle over chicken. Cut lemon peel into 1/2-inch cubes and reserve.

Add 3/4 cup water to tagine and simmer, covered, 30 minutes, until chicken is almost cooked through. Check occasionally toward end of cooking time to be sure tagine is not dry, adding more water if necessary to keep meat from burning and sticking to pot. Add olives and simmer, covered, 10 minutes longer until chicken is cooked through. Just before serving, sprinkle with preserved lemon peel, remaining cilantro, and salt to taste.

Berber tagine omelette

Now this was a great find. We were travelling across the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco, stopped for lunch and were told that it would be omelette with bread and salad. And this tagine dish is what we were served. It was so good we filmed it being made and I brought the recipe back to my restaurant and now it is a permanent fixture on the breakfast menu. From sbs.com.au

olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground paprika
10 tomatoes, peeled and diced
handful of chopped coriander
7 eggs, beaten
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 180ºC.

Heat your tagine on the stove and add some olive oil with the onion and cook slowly for about 5 minutes, add the spices and cook for a further 3 minutes, this releases the flavours.

Add the tomatoes and coriander then simmer for about 10–15 minutes, make sure you stir occasionally and reduce to a sauce consistency.

Remove from the heat and pour the beaten eggs over the sauce, cover with the tagine lid and place in the oven for about 10–15 minutes or until it lightly puffs and sets.

To serve, season well and drizzle with a little olive oil.