Moroccan Olives Recipes

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH OLIVES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F.
• Stir together cilantro, paprika, cumin, salt, turmeric, ginger and garlic. Rub mixture on all sides of chicken.
• Coat chicken with flour. Place chicken in ungreased rectangular baking dish, 13x9x2 inches. Stir together water, lemon juice and bouillon granules; pour over chicken. Add olives and lemon slices.
• Bake uncovered about 1 hour, spooning liquid over chicken occasionally, until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut. Serve with couscous.

MOROCCAN BAKED FISH WITH POTATOES, PEPPERS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Combine garlic, parsley, cilantro, cumin, paprika and saffron in a dish big enough for the fish. Mix vinegar, lemon juice and tomato paste in a small bowl. Add to dish and mix. Place fillets in the dish, turning to coat them, cover and set aside to marinate 2 hours at room temperature, 3 hours if refrigerated.
• Place potatoes in a saucepan, add water to cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Drain.
• Brush a baking dish that can go to the table and will hold the fish in a single layer with a little of the oil. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spread potatoes in the dish, season with salt and pepper, and place fish fillets on top. Scatter peppers and tomatoes over fish. Add a little more salt and pepper. Spoon any excess marinade over fish, strew with olives, drizzle with remaining oil and bake about 30 minutes, until fish is just cooked through.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH GREEN OLIVES AND LEMON

Steps:

• Cut 1 lemon into 8 wedges. Squeeze enough juice from second lemon to measure 2 tablespoons; set wedges and juice aside. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and sprinkle with salt and pepper; sauté until golden brown, about 8 minutes. Add next 5 ingredients; stir 1 minute. Add broth; bring to boil. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Add lemon wedges. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Transfer chicken to platter. Add olives and 2 tablespoons lemon juice to skillet. Increase heat to high; boil uncovered to thicken slightly, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Pour over chicken.

MARINATED MOROCCAN OLIVES

Steps:

• In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine olive oil, pepper flakes, garlic, coriander and cumin. Squeeze the lemon juice and add the lemon wedges, the olives, and mix well.
• Cover and refrigerate overnight. Leave out at room temperature for a few hours before serving.

MOROCCAN BRISKET WITH OLIVES, TOMATOES, ONIONS, AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• With a knife, pierce the skin of the brisket in 5 places and insert the garlic cloves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a heavy skillet or roasting pan, add the meat, sear on all sides and remove.
• Add 2 more tablespoons of the oil to the same pan and saute 3/4 of the onions (about 6 cups) until they are limp. Add the turmeric, ginger, white pepper, bay leaves, celery, 1/3 of the diced tomatoes, and water to the pan. Stir-fry a minute or 2 and let cool.
• Place the brisket in a baking pan and surround with the cooked vegetables. Roast, covered, in the oven for 3 hours or until a fork goes in and out of the meat easily. Remove, cool and refrigerate, reserving the vegetables. You can prepare this a day ahead of time.
• Tomato-Onion Sauce: Heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in the frying pan; add the remaining onions and saute until onions are translucent. Then add the remaining diced tomatoes and simmer, covered, for a few minutes. Set aside or refrigerate overnight or until ready to serve the meat.
• When ready to serve, remove any fat that accumulated on the brisket as it cooled. Cut, against the grain, into slices about 1/4-inch thick. Return the slices to the baking pan along with the reserved vegetables in which the meat was cooked. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and reheat the brisket, covered, for about 30 minutes.
• Add to the tomato-onion mixture, olives, preserved lemons and 2 tablespoons each of parsley and cilantro and heat in small saucepan. Remove the brisket and some, or all, of the vegetables to a serving platter and serve, covered with the tomato-onion sauce and garnished with the remaining parsley and cilantro.
• Cut 7 of the lemons lengthwise, almost into quarters, leaving them intact at one end. You can also slice them thin.
• Using your fingers, stuff as much salt as possible inside the lemons, close them, and place in sterilized wide-mouth 2 quart jar. Squeeze the juice of at least 4 lemons into the jar. Allow to stand, half covered, at least 1 week on the counter, shaking the bottle each day, or until the peels sink with the weight of the salt in the jar. Then add a few more salted lemons, lemon juice, and, if you like, olive oil to cover.
• Close the jar and leave out on the counter for at least 3 weeks before using. When using the lemons, merely rinse with water, remove the seeds, and chop up for your recipes. Refrigerate after opening.

MOROCCAN OLIVE FLATBREAD

Steps:

• Make the spice mixture by combining all of the seasonings in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Put the flour, sugar, salt, pepper and olives in a large mixing bowl and stir to combine. Add the olive oil and stir vigorously with a fork. Add the water and continue to stir until a ball forms. Sprinkle a work surface liberally with flour and turn the dough out onto the surface. Knead until the dough is velvety smooth, about 2 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
• Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
• Remove the dough from the refrigerator and flatten into a disk on a floured surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out as thinly as possible into an oval. Roll the dough onto the pin and transfer it to a baking sheet that has been brushed with olive oil.
• Brush the dough with extra-virgin olive oil and sprinkle with the spice mixture. Place the pan in the oven until the bread is crisp and deep golden brown, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool, and break into pieces. The flatbread can be made up to 2 days in advance, wrapped in plastic wrap, and kept in a dry place.

MOROCCAN OLIVES WITH HARISSA RECIPE

Steps:

• Soak the olives in a bowl of water for a few hours or overnight; drain. (Or, if the olives are hard, soften them by soaking in boiling water for 15 minutes.) For better infusion of the marinade, make one or two small incisions in each olive (or gently crush them to crack the flesh of the olive).
• While the olives are soaking, make the harissa if it's not already prepared: Remove the seeds from the chile peppers then soak in hot water for a half hour or until tender enough to mash. Drain. Lightly toast the seeds in a skillet (just until fragrant) and grind them with a mortar and pestle. Add the softened chile peppers, garlic, salt, lemon juice and olive oil to the mortar and grind to a paste. Thin as desired with additional lemon juice and olive oil. Store in a covered container in the refrigerator until needed.
• Seed the preserved lemon and cut it into thin strips.
• Combine the preserved lemon with the drained olives, parsley. lemon juice and as much harissa as desired.
• If you like, a little additional olive oil or garlic can be mixed in to the olives.
• Cover and refrigerate for 6 to 8 hours (overnight is best) before serving. The olives will keep in the fridge for several weeks. Leftover harissa may be stored in the fridge as well for use as a condiment with other foods.

MOROCCAN SPICED OLIVES

Steps:

• Cover olives with water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil, then drain.
• Cook garlic in oil in a 10-inch heavy skillet over medium heat until garlic is golden, about 2 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Stir in water, harissa, thyme, and olives and simmer briskly, stirring occasionally, until liquid is thickened and coats olives, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in lemon slices. Transfer to a shallow dish and marinate, chilled, at least 24 hours.
• These will keep for 1 month if kept in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

MOROCCAN OLIVES

Steps:

• In 8-inch nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil 1 minute. Add fennel seed, coriander seed, cumin seed, pepper flakes and garlic; cook and stir over medium heat 1 minute or until fragrant. Remove from heat. Add olives and orange peel; stir until olives are coated.
• Divide mixture between 2 small jars or containers with tightfitting lids. Pour 3/4 cup oil over mixture in jars. Cover; refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving. Serve at room temperature. Store in refrigerator up to 1 week.

MOROCCAN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND ARTICHOKE HEARTS

Steps:

• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cook and stir chicken, onion, and garlic in hot oil until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.
• Stir garbanzo beans, diced tomatoes with juice, vegetable broth, artichoke hearts, carrot, olives, sugar, lemon juice, salt, coriander, and cayenne pepper into the chicken mixture; bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer until vegetables are tender, about 30 minutes.