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Moroccan Chicken

by | Sep 22, 2020 | Mother Harissa, Persevered Lemons, Recipes, Roasted Garlic

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Traditionally a Moroccan chicken tagine or stew will be made in a clay pot with a cone-shaped lid, braised with preserved lemons, spices, onion, and garlic. If you don’t have the tagine pot you can instead use a dutch oven, ceramic pan, or any oven safe skillet. Serves 4- 6 people. Prep time 20 minutes. Cooking time 45 mins.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 1/2 tbsp Chef Laura Harissa spice blend
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 to 1 tsp black pepper
  • 3 1/2 lb whole chicken cut into bone-in pieces (or 7 to 8 pieces of chicken with bone in. Leave skin on or remove it, up to you.)
  • Kosher salt
  • Grapeseed oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped larger dice is fine
  • 6 cloves Chef Laura’s Roasted Garlic
  • 1 oz chopped fresh cilantro
  • 4 tbsp of rind of Chef Laura’s Preserved Lemons (rind only, remove white spongy pith)
  • 3/4 cup pitted green olives
  • 1/4 cup raisins (any kind)
  • 1/4 cup chopped dry apricots
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth
  • Fresh mint for garnish

DIRECTIONS

  1. In a small bowl, combine Chef Laura’s Mother Harissa blend and the remaining spices to make the rub.
  2. Pat chicken pieces dry and season lightly with kosher salt on both sides. Now, rub the chicken all over with Chef Laura’s Mother Harissa spice rub (if you kept the skins, make sure to apply the spice rub underneath the skins for best flavor.) Set aside in room temperature for 40 to 45 minutes or so (or, if you have the time, cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight. If you do this, take chicken out of the fridge and let it rest at room temperature for a few minutes before cooking.)
  3. In a 12″ deep ceramic pan or oven safe skillet, heat 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil over medium-high heat until shimmering but not smoking. Add chicken (skin side down, if you kept skin) and brown for 5 minutes. Flip with tongs and brown on the other side for another 3 minutes or so.
  4. Lower heat to medium-low and add onions, Chef Laura’s roasted garlic, and cilantro. Cover and cook for 3 minutes, then add preserved lemon slices, olives, raisins, and dried apricots.
  5. In a small bowl, mix the tomato paste and chicken broth. Pour mixture on top of the chicken as it cooks.
  6. Bring to a simmer for 5 minutes, then, keeping heat on medium-low, cover and cook for 30-45 minutes until chicken is tender and cooked through registering an internal temperature of 165 degrees F or higher.
  7. Garnish with more fresh cilantro and mint. Serve over plain couscous.