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Revised recipe:
3 or 4lb whole chicken, cut up (I used breasts, drumsticks and thighs)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
6-8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 t ginger, minced
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 t turmeric
1/2 t saffron
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 pieces preserved Meyer lemons (1 1/4 lemons)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cup chicken broth
2 cups good quality green olives, pitted and cut in half
1 or 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Scrape pulp from preserved lemon wedges and cut rind into thin strips and set aside.
Rinse chicken and pat dry, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick braiser over medium-high heat until hot. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and cinnamon stick and saute for a few minutes. Add saffron, rubbing it between your fingers to break up. Add turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute, then add wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up brown bits. Add chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a quick boil. Add strips of preserved lemon and olives.
Return chicken to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Sprinkle with half the cilantro. Cover, lower heat and braise chicken until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve over cous cous.
Photo courtesy of Epicurious (similar looking to mine, although I cut my lemons a bit thinner)
This past Sunday at the market I purchased a fresh cut-up whole chicken from Stokesberry Sustainable Farms. I was craving a good braised chicken with lots of sauce to spoon over rice or cous cous. I didn't have a lot of time so I opted for something familiar. I further adapted this recipe for Moroccan Chicken w/ Preserved Meyer Lemons & Green Olives based on similar recipes I found. I used the breasts, legs and thighs this time and added ginger, saffron, cinnamon and potatoes to my recipe. I will make this revised version from now on.
.I made cous cous to go with the chicken, using chicken stock instead of water. I had some leftover toasted pinenuts from making pesto the night before so I threw that into the cous cous. I served the cous cous in a large bowl, topped with a piece of chicken and lots of sauce. It was delicious.
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So as not to waste the rest of the chicken, I used the wings and back to make chicken stock using up veggies and herbs hanging around in the fridge. Great way to use up the whole bird.
Revised recipe:
.
Moroccan Chicken w/ Preserved Meyer Lemons & Green Olives
Adapted from Epicurious
3 or 4lb whole chicken, cut up (I used breasts, drumsticks and thighs)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick
6-8 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
1 t ginger, minced
1 cinnamon stick
3/4 t turmeric
1/2 t saffron
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 pieces preserved Meyer lemons (1 1/4 lemons)
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 cup chicken broth
2 cups good quality green olives, pitted and cut in half
1 or 2 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into small cubes
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
Scrape pulp from preserved lemon wedges and cut rind into thin strips and set aside.
Rinse chicken and pat dry, then season with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large nonstick braiser over medium-high heat until hot. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes on each side. Transfer chicken to a plate.
Add remaining tablespoon oil to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and cinnamon stick and saute for a few minutes. Add saffron, rubbing it between your fingers to break up. Add turmeric, salt and pepper. Cook for a minute, then add wine and deglaze the pan, scraping up brown bits. Add chicken stock and potatoes and bring to a quick boil. Add strips of preserved lemon and olives.
Return chicken to the pan, along with any juices that accumulated on the plate. Sprinkle with half the cilantro. Cover, lower heat and braise chicken until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Check seasoning and sprinkle with remaining cilantro. Serve over cous cous.
Photo courtesy of Epicurious (similar looking to mine, although I cut my lemons a bit thinner)
3 comments:
Yum! Delicious! Thanks for sharing, I'm going to try this.
I made this for a group of 7, it was a great one-pot meal (minus the couscous of course ;) ).
i didn't have preserved lemons so i used fresh lemons instead and squeezed the juice out of them. The rinds were still amazing.
I made this for a group of 7, it was a great one-pot meal (minus the couscous of course ;) ).
i didn't have preserved lemons so i used fresh lemons instead and squeezed the juice out of them. The rinds were still amazing.
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