What I Made for Dinner :: Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Green Olives, and Thyme

Chicken Tagine with Preserved Lemon, Green Olives, and Thyme (serves 4; marinating time, 2 hours; on the stove time, about an hour)

Ingredients for the tagine:

• 8-10 chicken thighs or 4 whole legs
• 1 tablespoon olive oil with a pat of butter
• 2 preserved lemons, cut into strips (I used half a jar of the new TJ's preserved lemons, rinsed and patted dry. You could probably use the whole jar if you like it lemon-y.)
• 6oz cracked green olives
• 1-2 teaspoons dried thyme or oregano (I used fresh thyme because I had some to use up)

Ingredients for the marinade:

• 1 onion, grated
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• a 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• a small bunch of cilantro, finely chopped
• a pinch of saffron threads
• freshly squeezed juice of 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon coard sea salt
• 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

[steamy pan = blurry photo]

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the marinade. (I used my mini-food processor to chop up the onion and ginger.) Put the chicken in a shallow dish and coat in the marinade, rubbing it into the skin. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for 1-2 hours.
   
2. Heat the olive oil with butter in a tagine or heavy-based casserole dish/pan. I would suggest removing as much of the chunky parts of the marinade (bits of onion, garlic, etc.) from the chicken before browning in the oil to prevent burning. I wasn't very good about that and I had to cut the browning process short so everything else wouldn't turn black! After browning, pour the rest of the marinade into the tagine/pan and add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the chicken. Bring the water to a boil, reduce the heat, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes, turning the chicken from time to time.
   
3. Add the preserved lemon, olives, and half the thyme. Cover again and simmer for another 15-20 minutes. Check the seasoning and spring the rest of the thyme over the top. Serve immediately. (I served it with couscous, obviously!)

From Tagine: Spicy Stews from Morocco by Ghillie Başan