A few years ago in Fes, I was sitting in a beautiful riad (Moroccan residence with an interior courtyard), amazed by the architecture, waiting for dinner to be served. Suddenly, a beautiful terracotta tagine arrived at the table, and when the lid was removed the contents were revealed – chicken braised with preserved lemons and green olives. The aroma intoxicated me and that dish inspired this one, which is one of my favourites. I am very lucky – my mother preserves her own lemons from a lemon tree that has been growing in our backyard for over fifteen years. I love to use her preserved lemons in this recipe.
- Place the ginger and garlic in a food processor and process until minced. Add the olive oil, spices, coriander, lemon juice and salt and blitz until the coriander is finely chopped.
- Transfer the marinade to a tagine (see page 8) or a heavy-based flameproof casserole dish, and add the chicken. Massage the marinade into the chicken pieces with your fingers so that the chicken is thoroughly coated. Cover with plastic film and marinate in the fridge for 1 hour.
- Remove from the fridge and arrange the onion and preserved lemon and olives on top of the chicken. Gently pour the stock over. Place the tagine over low heat and bring slowly to the boil, gently increasing the heat to high, then boil for 5 minutes. Cover with the lid, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes so the chicken does not stick to the bottom.
- Remove the tagine from the heat. Serve immediately with buttered couscous, if you like.
1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
¼ cup (60 ml) olive oil
2 tablespoons ras el hanout
1 tablespoon sweet paprika
1 tablespoon ground cumin
small bunch of coriander, stems and leaves
1/3 cup (80 ml) lemon juice, strained
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 kg chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of fat and halved
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 preserved lemons, rind only, rinsed and thinly sliced
1 cup (120 g) green olives, pitted and rinsed
2 cups (500 ml) chicken stock (or water)
Buttered couscous, to serve (optional)
