Tzipporah's Moroccan Chicken

Submitted by Cuistot

"Preserved lemons yummy... From a sewing friend, this is a distinctively middle eastern dish. Delightful blend of flavors and textures. It does require a little more time in the kitchen, but is well worth it!"

 

• Ready In: 50mins
• Ingredients: 13
• Serves: 8

ingredients

• 6 -8 pieces chicken, cut up
• salt and pepper
• olive oil
• paprika
• cumin
• saffron
• turmeric
• 1⁄2 - 1 preserved lemon, rinsed well in cold water and chopped finely into a small dice
• 2 -3 cups chicken bouillon or 2 -3 cups chicken broth
• 4 ounces hot water
• kalamata olives or arabic olive
• 1 (12 ounce) can garbanzo beans
• 1 -2 onion, chopped

directions

1. Large pan heat and add olive oil. I use a fair amount 1/4 cup or so. It needs a lid to it.
2. Take the chicken and rinse well, pat dry with a towel and lay on a plate to season.
3. In a bowl take kosher salt if you have it or sea salt and add the pepper to whatever ratio you are comfortable with. I usually just put in a handful of salt (I don't use the whole mixture) Then add about 2 TBS of cumin, paprika and 2 tsp of turmeric. If you have a morter and pestle, I grind the salt (kosher salt is a large flake size) with the spices to combine.
4. Take the 4 ounces of hot tap water and crumble up saffron strands in the water and let sit for 5 minutes.
5. Take the chicken and rub the spice mixture all over the pieces and place in the frying pan. You want to brown all of the pieces evenly add the onion and brown with the chicken. Onion doesn't all have to be browned, but the chicken should.
6. Once the chicken is browned, add the hot water and saffron mixture, if you are using the bullion cubes then dissolve those in 2 cups of hot water or add 2 - 3 cups of chicken broth. Add the chopped lemon now and the olives and garbanzo beans. The amount of olives can be as much as you like 1/2 cup or less. No need to measure, just eyeball it.
7. Cover and turn down to a very low simmer. If you have used boneless, skinless chicken it should be ready in about 25 minutes. Bone-in chicken can be cooked for 40 minutes or so. If you have a lower liquid to chicken ratio and you turn it down really low it is like poaching the chicken and the more liquid to chicken with higher temperature will result in boiling the chicken. Poaching makes a more tender piece of meat.
8. I usually make a rice with this using Basmati or Jasmine rice that has been browned and simmered with chopped onion, carrots, peas, etc. You can add what you like if they are all the same size dice. You salt rice and brown it in olive oil, add the veggies, then the seasonings and water, turn down low and cook until finished.
9. Seasonings can basically copy the main dish or you can branch out.
10. Finish it off with green beans cooked with garlic and you are set.

Reviews

[TasteTester]

This recipe was included in Book#228608. April 14, 2008 -- Wow! So many wonderful flavors in this chicken entree. I'd never made a Moroccan dish before and this was a real winner. I only used half the amount of spices because I was afraid it might be too spicy for our family, but I shouldn't have worried -- they all came together and seasoned the chicken perfectly. When I make it next time I'll use the full amount of spices as stated in the recipe. We loved it, Cuistot, and I had a lot of fun finding a recipe for preserved lemons; I posted the one I found, but it hasn't come up yet. I can't wait to try this again -- it's a great recipe and we loved it, and it's a recipe that will impress guests!! Thanks so much for posting this.

 

[Debi9400]

This is a very tasty dish. The flavourful sauce with the beans and olives is wonderful served over rice. I used 2 cups of chicken broth - next time I think I'll try using only 1 cup. Also used Zuries recipe #275467 - thanks for that tip 5th Course!

 

[Pneuma]

Oops! I thought I've finished rating this since we just had this a few days ago. Boy, we love the taste of it and the sauce, the seasonings (in itself some are not to my liking but together they were fabulous!) The olives and lemon were also delightful and upped this dish. I served this with brown rice mixed in this sauce. Yummy! Thank you!

 

[5thCourse]

What a perfectly rounded dish! I strongly recommend a plain side dish, like plain rice or couscous, to showcase the chicken. Mine made a lovely sauce, and I only used maybe a cup of stock. If you're nervous about the lemon, just use about a third, like I did. It was perfect. I had to use recipe#275467 since I have some lemons in a jar being preserved for a few weeks:) I also only used half an onion. This is easy and mouthwatering! Thank you!

 

[patti k.]

This smelled really good as it was cooking and the chicken was very moist. I made it in the crock pot and the meat just fell into shreds, which I liked. I was afraid it would be too salty, but served over Recipe #49579 it was just fine (though I probably would not salt the chicken next time). The taste of the preserved lemons was new to us and it was a bit pervasive - next time I would put in half an unchopped preserved lemon during cooking and then remove it when I serve the dish. Thanks for posting!