Moroccan Style Preserved Lemon and Chicken Tagine

Hi Guys! 

I must start by saying wow has it really been over three months since I updated this blog? Time seems to fly! I must apologise for the delay but I do have an excuse… Promise! I just got married to the man of my dreams and we had an amazing honeymoon in Bali!

But as things settle back to normality I have time to share with you all the amazing food experiences I have been lucky enough to have. Let me assure you, you are all in for a treat! I will share with you the recipes and experiences from my cooking class at a brilliant French patisserie, a number of new and tested dishes, a cooking class at an authentic Balinese restaurant in the heart of Bali's cultural capital Ubud and visits to a number of quirky new cafes and restaurants that are opening up right on our door step. I want to share all these experiences with you and hopefully inspire you to love food as much as I do!

I wanted to start of my entries with a dish my husband and I absolutely love - the preserved lemon and chicken tagine. One of the things that really set apart this dish is how mouth-wateringly tender the chicken comes. This coupled with ingredients such as preserved lemons packs an oomph of flavour.

Two things I should mention with this dish. One is if you can, buy a tagine. For those that are not sure what this is, a tagine has a flat and round base with low sides and a large cone shaped lid that sits over the base during cooking. 

The second is preserved lemons. In my blog post all the way back in November, I made preserved lemons. They are super easy to make and the richness it will add, especially to your Middle Eastern dishes are well worth the effort. Off course you should be able to buy preserved lemons at any gourmet delicatessen.

Okay so let's get to it! I hope you guys enjoy this dish as much as we do. Warning though, it’s absolutely addictive! 

This dish serves four to five. 

Preserved Lemon and Chicken Tagine 

Ingredients: 

Marinade:

• 2 garlic cloves, chopped 
• small knob of ginger 
• ½ preserved lemon, rind only, rinsed and finely sliced 
• 2 onions, chopped 
• 1 small red chilli 
• 1 tbsp sweet paprika 
• 1 tbsp ground cumin 
• 2 tbsp chopped coriander 
• 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley 
• 2 bay leaves, torn in half 
• ½ tsp saffron threads, soaked in a little water 
• 125 ml olive oil 
• salt 

For the Tagine 

• 6 -7 chicken thigh fillets 
• 2 tomatoes, 1 chopped, 1 sliced 
• 2 onions, 1 chopped, 1 sliced 
• 2 large potatoes, cut into wedges 
• 150 g pitted green olives 
• 1 bunch coriander, chopped 
• 250 ml water 
• 1 preserved lemon, rinsed and cut into 6 or 8 wedges

Method: 

1. Combine the marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Leave the flavours to infuse for about 20 minutes to half an hour. 
2. Using half the marinade coat the chicken pieces 
3. Combine the chopped tomato and onion with a little of the remaining marinade and spread over the base of a tagine (this will prevent the chicken from burning on the bottom). 
4. Arrange the chicken pieces in the tagine. 
5. Coat the potato wedges in a little of the remaining marinade and arrange around the chicken. 
6. Top with the sliced onion, then the sliced tomato, and push the olives into the gaps. 
7. Combine the remaining marinade with the coriander and water and pour over the top. Decorate with preserved lemon wedges.
8. Cover the tagine with the lid and cook over a low heat for 45 minutes to one hour. Once the chicken is cooked serve to guests in the tagine.

Below I have showed you the tagine arranged before cooking and what it will look like after! The smell of this dish cooking in your kitchen is absolutely divine.

While this dish is magnificent in itself you can add a few side dishes that will really complete the meal.

Cous Cous with herb, lemon and almonds

Cous Cous is very simple to make and pairs beautifully with this dish. 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 2 cups chicken stokc
• 1 1/2 cups cous cous
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
• 1/2 bunch chives, roughly chopped

Method:

1. Put the almonds on the stove and roast for about 3 minutes. Do not add oil. Toasting the almonds releases its natural oils
2. Pour stock into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Turn of the heat. Add the cous cous. Stand until the cous cous has absorbed all the stock.
3. Add the oil, lemon juice and lemon zest and using a fork fluff the grains.
4. Add the almonds and chives and serve.

Tomato and olive salad

Ingredients 

• 3 ripe tomatoes
• 1 red onion
• 2 tbps chopped parsley
• 1/4 cup green olives
• 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Method:

1. Arrange the tomato and onions on a plate and scatter the parsley and olives.
2. Drizzle the red wine and olive oil.
3. Add salt and pepper to taste.

There you have it a completed Morrocan Feast! Enjoy :)