Moroccan Chicken With Preserved Lemon And Olives Stove Top Method Recipes

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH OLIVES & PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, mix the onion, herbs, and spices; this mixture is called a charmoula. In a deep skillet or a Dutch oven, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Cook the chicken in two batches until browned on all sides, about 3 min. per side, transferring the pieces to the bowl with the charmoula as they're done. Pour off and discard most of the oil in the pan, leaving a film on the bottom. Toss the chicken to coat it with the charmoula. Pour 1/4 cup water into the pan over medium heat and scrape up any browned bits to help them dissolve. Remove the pan from the heat, add the chicken so it's in a single layer (a little overlap is fine). Scrape out the bowl of charmoula, adding the contents to the pan. Add 3/4 cup water and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and add the preserved lemon strips and olives to the sauce. Cover and simmer, turning the chicken occasionally, until the chicken is cooked through and very tender and the onion and herbs have melted into the sauce, 10 to 15 min. If it's not yet saucy but the liquid is evaporating, add more water and continue cooking for another 10 to 15 min. Transfer the chicken to a platter. Simmer the sauce uncovered so it has some body, about 3 min. Spoon the sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with chopped cilantro leaves.
• This recipe has been excerpted from Weekend Cooking 2007 , a collection of recipes, tips, and ideas for your favorite part of the week-the weekend! You'll find lots of delicious inspiration in this volume of Weekend Cooking, with menus and recipes destined to become favorites.

MOROCCAN LEMON CHICKEN

Steps:

• Heat the oil a medium straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat. Dry the chicken breasts well and sprinkle evenly with the salt. Place the breasts skin-side down in the hot pan and cook undisturbed until deep golden brown, about 6 minutes. Using tongs, flip the chicken to the bone side and continue to cook for another 5 minutes. Remove to a plate while you build the sauce.
• In the same pan, add the shallots and sweat, stirring occasionally, for a minute. Add the preserved lemon, olives and sun-dried tomatoes and stir to combine. Deglaze with the white wine, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 3 minutes to reduce slightly. Add the chicken broth and return to a simmer. Add the oregano and the chicken back to the sauce. Spoon some of the liquid over the chicken. Cover the pan and simmer gently until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F, about 25 minutes. Allow the chicken to rest in the sauce for 10 minutes. Stir in the parsley.
• Serve the chicken with a generous helping of the sauce and sprinkled with chive blossoms if using.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH SAFFRON AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Whisk 1/4 cup olive oil, garlic, turmeric, cumin seeds, salt, and pepper together in a bowl and pour into a resealable plastic bag or container. Add chicken, coat with the paste and seal bag or container. Marinate in the refrigerator, 4 hours to overnight.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook and stir until soft and translucent, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove chicken from marinade, discarding marinade. Add chicken thighs skin-side down to stockpot and cook until browned, about 4 minutes. Flip chicken thighs and cook until browned on second side, about 3 minutes more.
• Lower heat to medium and add water to cover chicken halfway, cover stockpot, and cook for 20 minutes. Uncover stockpot, sprinkle saffron threads onto chicken, and top with preserved lemon slices. Replace cover and cook until chicken is no longer pink at the bone and juices run clear, about 5 minutes more. An instant-read thermometer inserted near the bone should read at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Uncover stockpot and transfer chicken to a serving platter.
• Continue simmering liquid in stockpot until thickened to sauce consistency, 5 to 7 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken; top with olives, artichokes, and parsley.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND OLIVES - STOVE TOP METHOD

Steps:

• Cook the Chicken Mix everything except half of the saffron, olives, and lemon in a heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven. Cover the pot, and cook the chicken over medium heat, stirring every 10 to 15 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and almost ready to fall off the bones (approximately one hour, but longer if using a free range chicken). Keep the heat adjusted so that the chicken doesn't scorch, and try not to add water as you cook; the chicken will braise in its own juices. Add the preserved lemon, olives, the rest of the saffron, and a few tablespoons of water, and simmer gently for 5 to 10 minutes. Salt to taste

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMON AND OLIVES - D'JAJ M'QUALLI B' DAGHMIRA

Steps:

• Make the marinade: In a small glass, top the saffron threads with 1/4 cup of hot water and set aside for about 10 min. Stir in salt, turmeric, ginger pepper and smen.
• Cut the chicken into pieces and transfer them a large bowl. Add the marinade, turning and rubbing each piece to coat it thoroughly. Cover and let it absorb the spices for a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.
• Transfer the chicken and marinade to a deep cooking pot with a heavy bottom (or a tagine). Add the giblets, the finely chopped onions, garlic, and the rest of the spices. Top with 1/4 cup of water.
• Bring to a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat while tossing the meat a few times. You may cover the pot during this step and uncover it to stir.
• When the water seems to have mostly evaporated and the meat has changed color from all sides, add the oil and enough hot water to cover 2/3 to 3/4 of the chicken.
• Cover and let simmer until the chicken is cooked through and has become tender to the touch. The liquid should have mostly reduced by now. Regularly check the bottom of the pot to prevent any burning or stickiness.
• If the chicken has cooked and you are still left with a good amount of liquid, remove the chicken, cover with foil or cling film, and leave on the side while you carry on with the rest of the recipe.
• There are two ways depending on the type of onions used; this will define when to add most of them during the cooking process. Some onions are more watery then others and tend to melt in a short time; while cooking we hardly need to add water to the dish. Whichever way you go, 1 chopped onion is always cooked with the chicken from the beginning of the cooking.
• Method I: Cook chicken and all onions at the same time, then fish out the chicken once it becomes tender. Reduce the sauce and keep stirring until you get a silky onion gravy.
• Method II: Cook chicken with only 1 chopped onion; remove the cooked chicken then add the other 2 chopped onions and cook them in the sauce, When they become tender and cooked through, toss and break them with a spatula until you get a silky onion paste (the daghmira). It will start separating from the oil when ready.
• Par-boil the chicken livers for 10 to 15 minutes and discard the scum. (You may optionally flavor the water with 1/2 tsp of each of the following: chopped garlic, ground pepper, salt, ginger.) Drain the livers, rinse and set aside.
• Take some of the sauce and cook the livers separately for another 15 min. This is a good idea when you have a mixed table where some don't like them and others do. If you have no picky eaters around, just chuck them in the sauce after you cook the chicken and let them cook as the sauce reduces.
• Again, you may choose to leave them in one piece. In this case, fish them out and put them on the side, covered as they may darken and dry out in contact with air. But you can also grate them or crush them into the daghmira for a thick and richer consistency.
• In the cooking pot: The traditional way of making this dish requires sauteing or frying (rissoler is the French word that comes to mind) the cooked chicken in the oil that separates from the daghmira. We put the chicken back in the oil over medium heat and turn it until golden brown; the chicken remains moist inside. The word m'qualli takes its name from this method.
• In the oven: In recent decades, some have moved to browning the chicken in the oven while we work on the daghmira. If you choose this option, just glaze it with some of the oil from the sauce and brown it for 20 minutes at 400 F/200 C, turning it a couple of times to brown it evenly. A whole chicken might take up to 30 min.
• Traditionally, we start by pouring the marqa (sauce) onto the serving plate then we place the chicken then livers and giblets on top. We coat the top of the chicken with daghmira (the onion paste) and garnish with olives and the rinds of preserved lemon. If we choose to serve this dish with fries, we scatter them on top or arrange them around the chicken.
• If you have used a tagine to cook, you just need to place it directly in the middle of the table as probably the order of chicken and daghmira would be the opposite (daghmira and sauce on the bottom and around while the chicken takes center stage).
• Always serve this dish warm.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Remove excess fat from chicken, rinse well inside and out and pat dry. Rub chickens with lemon inside and out and under skin of breasts. Rub with sea salt and set aside to marinate in a nonreactive baking dish, covered and refrigerated, overnight. Next day, rinse chickens again and pat dry.
• In a flameproof casserole large enough to hold both chickens combine cilantro, parsley, garlic, ginger, saffron, preserved lemon and pepper to taste. Add 1/4 cup water and chickens, turning to coat thoroughly, and rubbing some of the mixture inside. Add reserved giblets, except livers. Pour oil over and bring to a simmer over low heat. When chicken begins to sizzle, add onions, cover and cook for 30 minutes. Add livers and paprika and continue to cook, covered, 1 hour more.
• Remove chickens to a carving board and let rest, covered loosely with foil, while you finish the sauce. Cut giblets into small pieces and return to sauce. Using a fork, crush livers into sauce to thicken. Sauce should be thick -- if it is thin, boil until reduced and thickened. Add butter and olives. Heat, swirling pan, until sauce is emulsified. To serve, cut chickens into quarters and arrange on a warmed platter. Spoon sauce over and garnish with lemon peel.