Moroccan Chicken, Green Olive, and Preserved Lemon Tagine

A tagine is a slow cooked North African sort of stew that is named after the earthenware pot in which it is cooked.  Often times tagines combine sweet and savory foods together with vegetables and then they are served with rice or cous cous.  Some popular combinations are lamb or chicken with a variation of prunes, dried apricots, preserved lemons, honey, raisins, and almonds.  Vegetable tagines also contain a variety of vegetables along with something sweet.

I  made this dish on a busy day last weekend between running errands, meeting with a friends, and going to a party that night.  I love it because it tastes exotic and complicated, but it couldn't be easier to make.

I mixed the chicken ingredients together in the morning and let it marinate in the fridge all day.  Then when I got home I dumped the entire tupperware full of chicken and spices into a dutch oven with the remaining ingredients and let it cook slowly on the stove while I finished up some things around the house.  You could make this in a real tagine if you have one, or maybe even a crockpot, though the texture would be different.

This recipe is adapted from the tagine recipes found here and here.

•1 whole bone in, skin on chicken, cut into serving pieces

•2 Tablespoons paprika

•1 teaspoon tumeric

•1 teaspoon cumin

•1 teaspoon cinnamon

•1 teaspoon black pepper

•3 cloves garlic, chopped

•1 inch fresh ginger, chopped

•1 whole preserved lemon, pulp removed and chopped, peel sliced and set aside (you can buy preserved lemons at specialty shops, but they usually run $6-10 a jar, so it is much, much better to make your own)

•olive oil, to drizzle

•1 can plain, unstuffed green olives

•1 large or 2 medium onions, diced finely

Combine the chicken, paprika, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, pepper, garlic, ginger, and preserved lemon pulp together in a large bowl until thoroughly coated.  There is no salt added because the preserved lemon is rather salty.  Drizzle the chicken with a little bit of olive oil so that the spices mix in nicely.  Transfer to a container and let marinate in the fridge all day, or even overnight.

Place the entire contents of the container with chicken in a dutch oven over medium low heat.  Add the olives, onions, and the preserved lemon peels.  Cook covered for about 1 1/2 to 2 hours, gently stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through.  It should be very tender.  Serve with cous cous.http://kitchenprocrastination.blogspot.com/2011/12/preserved-lemons-are-just-about-easiest.html