Moroccan Chicken with Artichokes, Preserved Lemons and Olives
This recipe is inspired by Claudia Roden’s book Arabesque.
Ingredients
- 3 T extra virgin olive oil
- 1 large onion, very finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/2 t crushed saffron threads
- 1/2 t ground ginger
- 6 to 8 bone-in chicken thighs
- 12 artichoke hearts, fresh, canned or frozen
- salt and pepper
- 1/2 lemon, juiced
- 2 T cilantro, roughly chopped
- 2 T flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
- peel of 1 large or 2 small preserved lemons, peel cut into strips
- 12 – 16 Nicoise olives
Instructions
- In a large Dutch oven that can hold all the chicken pieces in one layer, heat the oil.
- Add the onions and sauté, stirring over low heat until the onions are softened.
- Add the garlic, saffron and ginger.
- Put in the chicken pieces, season with salt and pepper and pou in about 1 1/4 C water.
- Simmer, covered turning the pieces over a few times and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry. Simmer for about 40 minutes.
- Lift the chicken and put the artichoke bottoms in the sauce beneath the chicken.
- Now add the lemon juice, the chopped cilantro, parsley, the preserved lemon peel and the olives.
- Simmer uncovered for 5-10 minutes, until the reduced sauce is thick. If there is too much liquid, remove the chicken pieces and set aside while you reduce the sauce further, then return the chicken to the pan and heat through.
- Serve the chicken on a serving dish with the artichokes, olives and lemon peel on top of the chicken.