Preserved Lemon Chicken Recipes

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the preserved lemons into quarters and remove the rinds from the flesh, reserving both. Create a pocket between the skin and meat of each chicken breast. Slide pieces of the lemon rind, pith side down, into each pocket, two pieces per breast. Then rub the chickens with the remaining lemon flesh. Sprinkle the ground cumin over the birds and season with the salt and pepper.
• Set chickens on a roasting rack in a large roasting pan and cook for 20 minutes. Remove the chickens and spread butter over the breasts, then drizzle with the honey. Lower oven temperature to 400 degrees. Roast for 30 to 50 minutes, or until the skin is a burnished brown.
• Remove from oven, and allow to rest for 15 or 20 minutes.
• Reduce juice from pan over medium heat. Pour over carved chicken.

PRESERVED LEMON CHICKEN

Steps:

• You will need a deep frying pan or saute pan with a lid or a flameproof casserole dish
• Season the chicken breasts. Heat the oil in the pan and fry the chicken over a high heat until golden brown all over, then set them aside.
• Add the onions to the pan and fry for a minute. Lower the heat, cover the pan with a lid and cook for about 5 mins. Add the garlic and ginger, sprinkle in the cumin and fry for 30 secs. Stir in the wine and boil for 2 minutes. Add the stock and puree and bring back to the boil. Stir in the honey and preserved lemons and season with salt and pepper.
• Return the chicken to the pan, cover and bring back to the boil. Lower the heat and leave to simmer gently on the hob for about 20 - 25 minutes until the chicken has cooked through.
• Mix the cornflour with 3 tbsp of cold water in a small bowl. Add a little of the chicken stock and mix well. Add the cornflour mixture to the pan, bring to the boil and stir over the heat until the sauce has thickened. Check the seasoning.
• Sprinkle with the herbs, then serve with mashed potato or rice and fresh greens.

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Mix garlic, saffron, ginger, paprika, cumin and turmeric together. If not using kosher chicken, add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Add pepper to taste. Rub chicken with mixture, cover, refrigerate and marinate 3 to 4 hours.
• Heat oil in heavy skillet. Add chicken, and brown on all sides. Remove to platter. Add onions to skillet, and cook over medium-low heat about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Transfer to tagine, if you are using one, or leave in skillet. Add cinnamon stick.
• Put chicken on onions. Scatter with olives. Quarter the lemons, remove pulp and cut skin in strips. Scatter over chicken. Mix stock and lemon juice. Pour over chicken.
• Cover tagine or skillet. Place over low heat, and cook about 30 minutes, until chicken is done. Scatter parsley on top, and serve.

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.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Preheat the broiler. Cook the rice as the label directs. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Add to the skillet, skin-side down, and cook until golden, 6 to 8 minutes. Flip and cook until just browned on the other side, about 3 more minutes.
• Transfer the chicken to a plate and pour off the excess fat from the skillet. Return the skillet to medium-high heat and add the butter; let melt. Add the bell pepper and onion and cook until just softened, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and 1/2 teaspoon each salt and pepper and cook 1 more minute. Add the wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in the chicken broth and preserved lemon slices and bring to a simmer.
• Return the chicken to the skillet, skin-side up. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through and the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Place the skillet under the broiler and cook until the chicken skin is crisp, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Fluff the rice and divide among plates. Serve with the chicken, vegetable mixture and sauce from the skillet; top with dill.

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.

ONE-PAN CHICKEN AND RICE WITH PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Rinse and drain the rice 3 to 5 times to get rid of excess starch. Set aside.
• Combine the cumin, coriander, paprika, cinnamon, turmeric and 1 teaspoon salt in a small bowl. Pat the chicken breasts dry with paper towels and sprinkle them on both sides with half of the spice mixture.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large (12-inch) pan or cast-iron skillet over medium heat. When hot (but not smoking), add the chicken and sear until it forms a golden brown crust, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken and set aside.
• Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil into the same pan and place over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until golden, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the rice and the remaining spice mix and stir to combine.
• Remove the flesh of the preserved lemon (discard the seeds and save the flesh for another use). Finely chop the lemon rind (peel). Add the rind to the rice followed by the olives. Stir to evenly distribute the olives. Pour the broth and 1 1/2 cups water into the pan and increase the heat to medium high. Bring to a simmer, place the chicken breasts back in the pan and cover the pan. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 30 minutes (see Cook's Note).
• You can serve the chicken as is, or shred it and add it back to the rice. Serve sprinkled with parsley.

CHICKEN AND PRESERVED LEMON

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy-based frying pan.
• Brown the chicken over high heat on all sides.
• Remove from the pan and set aside.
• Place the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and work until smooth.
• Add this puree to the frying pan and stir over medium heat for a minute or two, then add the cayenne pepper and paprika.
• Add the stock and lemon juice to the pan, bring to the boil stirring to combine.
• Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until reduced by about 1/3.
• Return the chicken to the pan and add the lemon and olives and cook over a medium heat for a further 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
• Serve sprinkled with the parsley.