Monday, November 15, 2010

Moroccan Chicken, Preserved Lemon, & Olive Tagine with Dried Cherry & Almond Couscous


If you've followed this blog at all, you may be a bit surprised - or even, if you're vegetarian, disappointed - to see me writing about a chicken recipe. In fact, this is the first meat dish - other than fish - that I've ever featured here.

So, what has gotten into me? Let me explain ...

I mentioned some time ago that I would be working with meat in culinary school and eating it - albeit infrequently compared to most people - for my work. In school, a recent class focused on chicken fabrication - in other words, the right way to cut up a chicken into eight easy pieces. I thought (reasonably enough, I supposed) having only recently re-entered the world of the omnivore that I would be a little grossed out chopping up a whole chicken carcass.

Well, as it turns out ... I kind of liked it. It was interesting. And challenging. And not only that - I wasn't terrible at it. Go figure! No one, I assure you, was more surprised than I.

I guess I'm just a girl who appreciates the feel of a really sharp boning knife.

So I decided that it would be a good idea to practice my strangely compelling new skill, and given that my mother-in-law recently gifted Poppa Trix and me with a gorgeous handmade tagine, what better thing to make than Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and olives?

As an aside, the chicken I bought at the farmers market had been pasture raised and fed a vegetarian diet free of antibiotics and all that junk. (I'm telling you, this guy's chickens and pigs probably live better than I do.) While I realize that my culinary school is likely not buying what I would consider to be ethically sourced meats due to cost concerns, on the rare occasion that I buy meat in my personal life I definitely believe in supporting ethical and humane purveyors.

But let's get on with it! *Wipes hands and puts away soapbox.*

I followed a fairly classic recipe, with some variations of my own. As always, for a savory dish like this, I didn't stick to precise amounts. I mixed up my marinade and before adding the chicken to it I tasted it and played with it until it was right.

First, I cut my whole chicken into 8 pieces - but I have decided to spare you the images! You could certainly buy chicken that's already been cut up if you want. For the marinade, I combined about 1/3 cup olive oil, 1 1/2 chopped preserved lemons (many recipes tell you to remove the peel but I don't see the point, it's tastes fine to me), 2 tsp fresh minced ginger, 5 cloves garlic, minced, 1 heaping Tbsp ras al hanout, 1/2 tsp Saigon cinnamon, 1 tsp turmeric, 2 Tbsp finely chopped parsley, and a few healthy grinds of cracked black pepper. (I should have added 1 tsp saffron threads, but I forgot and added it afterward, to the tagine).

 

This should marinate for at least an hour; more if possible. Next, put a little oil in the bottom on your tagine, and add the chicken with all the marinade. Add one large onion, diced, a few handfuls of green olives, the saffron if you forgot it like I did, and a bouqet of parsley and cilantro:


Add another drizzle of olive oil plus 1/4 cup water.  Put the lid on your tagine, and bring the flame to medium - just enough to get the liquid to simmer. You then want to lower the flame to the minimum that will still keep the contents calmly simmering. The next part is simple - just leave it alone for about 90 minutes!


Isn't it cute?
After about an hour and a half, you can turn the chicken over, cover and let cook a little longer. While that's going on, make your couscous. I sauteed two good handfuls of dried cherries, 1/2 of a small chopped red onion, and a large handful of slivered almonds in olive oil over medium heat. I added about a cup of cooked couscous to the pan and stirred to coat. To finish, I tossed in some salt, pepper, and fresh copped parsley.

The sweet cherries were fab with the salty tang of the olives and preserved lemon from the tagine. And I never thought I'd type these words, but the chicken was falling-off-the-bone tender, and Poppa Trix and I loved it.  No, I haven't turned into a rapacious carnivore; quite the contrary, I still plan to feature plenty of vegetarian recipes here, as that is about 95% (or more) of what I eat in a typical week.  Hopefully, though, my forays into the meat-eating world will all be as scrumptious as this:





22 comments:

  1. Thats adorable that pot! love it...but more important that cinnamon intrigues me. Sounds wonderful. I love olives too so this is right up my alley, just not familiar with some of these ingredients. It looks fabulous!

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  2. Oh my gosh. I am so ready to eat this. My stomach is growling!! I love the flavors here!

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  3. your tagine looks fabulous! i've never seen one like that before. extra points for buying ethically raised chicken; i'm glad you emphasized that in your post. your recipe looks delicious and congrats on your knife wielding skills!

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  4. This looks great, and I love how you've done the rice

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  5. Love your tagine! It's beautiful. We just preserved some lemons and limes, so it'll be nice to use the former in a dish.

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  6. I have been looking out for great tagine recipes in preparation for a new tagine I am pretty sure I will get for Christmas this year, lol. Thanks for sharing this recipe! The dish looks beautiful :)

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  7. I have preserved lemons!! I love your tagine, by the way.

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  8. Not judging you since I am a full blown meat eater. Cute tagine and actually glad you are getting into meats!

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  9. Oh, I remember you telling me about the tagine gift from your Mother in-law. Well it sure got used in a beautiful way and what a perfect tagine you made. Looks absolutely delish! It's great that you weren't grossed out by the chicken and that you did such a great job cutting it up perfectly.

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  10. I was definitely shocked to see a chicken here at first till I read on! Good for you. I can so relate to the power of a scrumptious knife in hand. And I am a fan of tajines too I love the added twist here.

    Too weird about adults eating fufu like a pill, silly actually. Will have to try your suggestions.

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  11. I am right with you on the meat thing. I'm not a big fan, but couldn't be a vegetarian for my love of fish. I rarely eat chicken nowadays for the reasons you mentioned ( do you know how much it costs to feed 7 people Organic, farm-raised chicken? Ouch!)
    This is EXACTLY the kind of dish I 'splurge' for when eating chicken. I loooove the flavors here, especially the preserved lemon, and the olives, and the saffron and the... o.k. I love it ALL! Excellent recipe, thanks for sharing! Can't wait to make it once I figure out what ras al hanout is. ;-)
    and yes, he is very cute!

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  12. Oh, I really wish I had a tagine pot like that! What a delicious dish this is, I like the combo of the sweet cherries and salty olives you describe!

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  13. yes, cute little tagine... the chicken sounds really loaded with such good spices and cooking it that way I bet made it so juicy and tender, love your couscous too

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  14. That is an adorable tagine!! I love Moroccan chicken and look at all that cilantro and parsley on top! YUM! The cherry and almond cous cous sounds equally inspired! Beautiful meal :)

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  15. So lovely!

    Even the mushy hands photo (don't you love that feeling after you rinse your hands clean when cooking?! One of my favorites.)

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  16. looks great my brother just started eating chicken as well he was a vegetarian looks great and what a cool tangine

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  17. I think you should not feel the need to apologise for making a beautiful dish that is also as ecologically sound as you can make it. Looks gorgeous and a fabulous use for my own neglected tagine and my preserved lemons that are just about ready to use! Lovely lovely :)

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  18. It looks incredible! There's no shame in loving your knife...ore your meat! Your body wants, what it wants.

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  19. I am jealous of the pot, Trix but welcome you to the land of ethical carnivores. If the animal lives a good life until 3 minutes before they die... I mean, could any of us ask for more??? Delicious recipe and I love the cous cous.

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  20. Congrats!! This is a great 'first' post! Lovely photo and it looks delicious.

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  21. Thanks for sharing this recipe and technique for using the tagine The dish looks beautiful and I like all the spices. I have preserved key limes that I would like to try, just need a tagine, although my kitchen is bursting with cooking acoutrements, I suppose always room for one more!

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  22. I've never seen a tagine pot, it looks like a mini brick oven. I bet it cooked the chicken to perfection. I will have to try this recipe, I like the idea of olives, spices and chicken together.

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