Juicing up your Moroccan
The preserved lemons that I put down about six weeks ago are now ready to use. I decided to put them in smaller jars this year and make them more often so they don’t lose their looks or flavour.
Preserved lemons are essential when it comes to Moroccan dishes and they impart a wonderful salty lemon flavour as they simmer away with the meat.
Some cooks leave the flesh in the lemons when they use them. Others discard it and use the skins only.
In this recipe I used half the preserved lemon flesh and all of the skin.
Just because you don’t own a tagine, doesn’t mean you have to forego the delights of Moroccan cuisine.
You’ve likely got a suitable lidded casserole or Dutch oven you can use.
If you have a tagine but are nervous about putting it on the stove top, the method used in this recipe will work for you.
Use a frying pan for saute´ing the onions then transfer the onions to the base of your tagine, continue with the recipe and use your oven for cooking.
MOROCCAN CHICKEN
TAGINE
3 tablespoons olive oil 2 medium onions, sliced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 2 teaspoons ground ginger 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1 teaspoon sweet paprika juice of 1/2 fresh lemon 1 medium preserved lemon small bunch each of parsley and coriander, chopped 8 boneless skinless chicken thighs 150 ml warm water handful pitted black olives Preheat oven to 180C.
Saute´ the onion and garlic together in oil in a small frying pan. When the onion is well wilted, tip it on to the bottom of a casserole dish.
Sprinkle over the ginger, cinnamon and sweet paprika. Squeeze in the fresh lemon juice.
Discard half the flesh from the preserved lemon. Chop the remainder, removing any pips. Shred the skin and pith into thin slices and add to the casserole dish along with the lemon flesh. Mix in the chopped herbs.
Cut each chicken thigh into two or three lengthwise and place in a single layer on the onion mix.
Add the olives. Pour in the water, cover with a lid and cook in the oven for an hour or until the chicken is cooked.
Check the seasoning. The dish will probably have enough salt from the preserved lemons and the olives. Garnish with a little chopped coriander. Serve with couscous or warm bread. Serves 4.
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