Chicken Tajine With Olives And Preserved Lemons

Total Time: 1 hr 50 mins Preparation Time: 25 mins Cook Time: 1 hr 25 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 (3 lb) chicken, each cut into 6 pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 2 small onions, finely grated
• 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger or 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3 inches cinnamon sticks or 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron thread, crumbled
• 2 medium tomatoes, peeled,seeded and coarsely chopped or 1 1/2 cups drained, canned tomatoes
• 6 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 cup flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
• 1 cup cilantro, finely chopped
• 3 preserved lemons
• 1/2 lb kalamata olive

Recipe

• 1 heat the oil in a large saucepan.
• 2 season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and add them to the pan along with the onions, ginger, cinnamon and saffron.
• 3 cook over high heat, turning the chicken occasionally, until browned all over, about 10 minutes.
• 4 add the tomatoes, garlic, parsley, cilantro and 2 cups of water and bring to a boil.
• 5 reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is tender, about 1 hour.
• 6 meanwhile, rinse the preserved lemons under running water; pat dry.
• 7 cut the lemons into quarters.
• 8 discard the pulp from one of the lemons and finely chop the peel.
• 9 reserve the quarters for garnish.
• 10 transfer the chicken to a large plate.
• 11 strain the cooking liquid and return it to the casserole.
• 12 boil over high heat until slightly thickened, about 10 minutes.
• 13 add the chopped preserved lemons and the olives and simmer over moderate heat for 2 minutes.
• 14 add the chicken pieces and simmer until heated through.
• 15 arrange the chicken pieces on a serving dish.
• 16 pour the sauce on top and garnish with the lemon quarters.