Paula Wolferts Chicken Moroccan Style Recipes

PAULA WOLFERT'S CHICKEN, MOROCCAN-STYLE

Steps:

• Wash the chicken, then drain. The remainder of this step is optional; the North Africans do it to purify the chicken. Blend the garlic with one tablespoon salt to make a paste. Rub the paste into the cavity and the flesh of the chicken. Rinse well.
• Place the chicken in the casserole with the spices, garlic, onions, herbs, oil and two cups water. Simmer, covered, 30 minutes, turning the chicken often in the cooking liquid.
• Meanwhile, pit the olives. To rid them of their bitterness boil them three times, changing the water each time.
• Add the drained pitted olives and the lemon juice to the casserole and continue cooking until the chicken is very tender. Transfer the chicken to a serving dish. Using a slotted spoon, remove the olives and place around the chicken. Meanwhile reduce the cooking liquid in the casserole to a thick sauce. Adjust the salt and lemon juice to taste. Pour over the chicken. Serve at once.

CHICKEN WITH LEMONS AND OLIVES EMSHMEL

Steps:

• 1. The day before, using 4 cloves of the garlic and 2 tablespoons of salt prepare the chickens as directed below under Basic Method For Preparing Poultry, then marinate both chickens and livers in 1 teaspoon of salt, the remaining 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thin, the spices, and the oil. Refrigerate, covered.
• 2. The next day, place the chickens, livers, and marinade in the casserole. Add 1/2 cup of the grated onion, the saffron, herbs, and 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer 30 minutes, turning the chickens often in the sauce.
• 3. While the chickens are cooking, rinse and pit the olives. (If they seem a little bitter, cover with cold water, bring to a boil, and drain.) Set aside.
• 4. Remove the chicken livers from the casserole and mash them fine. Return to the casserole with the remaining grated, drained onions. (This will give a good deal of heftiness to the sauce.) Add water, if necessary. Continue cooking 20 minutes, partially covered.
• 5. Rinse the preserved lemons (discarding the pulp, if desired) and quarter. Add the olives and preserved lemon quarters to the sauce when the chickens are very tender and the flesh falls easily from the bone. Continue cooking 5 to 10 minutes, uncovered.
• 6. Transfer the chickens to a serving dish and spoon the olives and lemons around them. Cover and keep warm. By boiling rapidly, uncovered, reduce the sauce to 1 1/2 cups. Add the juice of 2 fresh lemons to the sauce in the pan. Add more salt (and more lemon juice, if desired) to taste. Pour the sauce over chickens and serve at once.
• Basic Method for Preparing Poultry
• The timing in the recipe includes these steps:
• 1. Wash the chickens or other poultry in salted water and drain. Pound 4 cloves garlic and 2 tablespoons salt into a paste. Rub the paste into the cavity and flesh of the poultry, at the same time pulling out excess fat from under the skin and from the neck and rump ends. Pull out the thin translucent membrane from under the skin of the breast. Rinse the poultry well under running water until it no longer smells of garlic. (The garlic is used to rid the poultry of any bitterness that might spoil a sauce; it also brings out its flavor, much like MSG.) Drain the poultry well.
• 2. If you suspect that your poultry is tasteless on account of "scientific breeding," use a method invented by Janet Jaidi to improve its taste: Rub it with the spices to be used in the recipe, a little butter and oil, and marinate it overnight. (If you do this, remember that you may have to readjust the spicing of your sauce at the end.)
• 3. If you are using whole poultry, it must be trussed. Trussing poultry is easy: clip off the wing tips and discard; slip the ends of the legs into a horizontal incision made just about the rump (turkeys often come this way), or slip the legs into incisions made on the lower sides of the breast.
• Note: When stuffing turkeys or squabs or chickens, do not wash with garlic or salt.
• Paula Wolfert shares her tips with Epicurious:
• •Wolfert recommends using organic free-range chicken for its noticeably superior maximum flavor and moist texture. Free-range poultry is available at health food stores, an increasing number of supermarkets, and at dartagnan.com. •Like many Moroccan clay-pot dishes, this chicken can be prepared in a slow cooker with very good results. Wolfert recommends Rival's Versaware model because the crock pot can be removed and used on the stovetop or in the oven (available at rivalproducts.com).

GINGER CHICKEN WITH CHICKPEAS (MOROCCAN TAGINE)

Steps:

• Cover dried chick-peas with water & soak overnight. You can do this in advance & then freeze the chick-peas. When ready to use take out of the freezer & thaw.
• Blend salt, ginger, pepper, garlic, oil, & lemon juice in a bowl. Take a skewer (preferably) or sharp knife & poke several holes into the chicken. Then dip the chicken into the mixture so that all sides are covered. Place chicken into a glass & cover with the remaining mixture. Let it marinate for at least 2 hours.
• Drain the soaked chick-peas or thaw the ones already prepared. Place chick-peas, 1/2 tsp salt, & fresh water into a sauce pan or pressure cooker & cover with lid. If using a pan, cook chick-peas for 45 minutes. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 15 minutes (after it starts to hiss).
• Drain chick-peas & submerge in a bowl of cold water. Gently rub the chick-peas to remove their skins. Immediately remove skinned peas from the water & place into another bowl.
• Place 3 cups of water, chicken & any juices in the bowl into the large pot or pressure cooker. Add salt, turmeric, ginger, parsley, 2 cloves garlic, cinnamon stick, & butter. If using a pot bring to boil, reduce heat, cover, & simmer for 1 hour, turning the chicken frequently in the sauce. If using a pressure cooker, cover & cook for 8 minutes (after it starts to hiss).
• Remove chicken, place back in the glass bowl & cover to stay warm. Add onions & cooked chick-peas to the pot. Bring to a rolling boil & cook until the onions are very tender & the sauce has reduced to about 2 cups. Mix cornstarch & a little water to make a thin paste, add to sauce to thicken. After the sauce has thicken some return chicken back into the pot to reheat.
• To serve, place chicken into a deep dish & cover with sauce.

PAULA WOLFERT'S SEVEN-DAY PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Dry lemons well and cut each into 8 wedges. In a bowl toss wedges with salt and transfer to a glass jar (about 6-cup capacity). Add lemon juice and cover jar with a tight-fitting glass lid or plastic-coated lid. Let lemons stand at room temperature 7 days, shaking jar each day to redistribute salt and juice. Add oil to cover lemons and store, covered and chilled, up to 6 months.