Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Lemons and Olives

A tagine is a North African earthenware conical cooking vessel. We'd normally associate Moroccan food with a tagine. A tagine is also the name of the dish that's cooked in the vessel. These tagines go from the very basic to the completely elaborate with a multitude of reasons why each is better than the next. The beauty for me is that you can stove top or in oven cook with it, use it as a serving vessel and it retains heat for a very long time.

I bought my tagine quite a while ago and every time I cook with it I remind myself that I simply don't use it enough. This time was no different. Craving some flavourful Moroccan chicken I decided to make a simple Lemon Chicken with Olives recipe using the preserved lemons I made a few months ago. If you've never preserved lemons, it's just so easy and the result is nothing short of amazing. Check out How To by David Liebovitz



I found an interesting recipe HERE

Ingredients

•1 whole chicken, skin removed, cut into pieces
•2 large white or yellow onions, very finely chopped
•one small handful of fresh cilantro, chopped*
•one small handful of fresh parsley, chopped*
•2 or 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or pressed
•2 teaspoons ginger
•1 teaspoon pepper
•1 teaspoon turmeric (or 1/4 teaspoon Moroccan yellow colorant)
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/4 teaspoon saffron threads, crumbled (optional)
•1 teaspoon smen (Moroccan preserved butter - optional)
•1 handful green or red olives, or mixed
•1 preserved lemon, quartered and seeds removed
•1/3 cup olive oil
•1/4 cup water, approximately
Preparation:
* Instead of chopping, you can tie the parsley and cilantro together into a bouquet and place on top of the chicken during cooking.

Prepare the Chicken
Remove the flesh from the preserved lemon, and finely chop it. Add the chopped lemon flesh to a bowl along with the chicken, onion, garlic, cilantro, parsley, spices and smen, and mix well. If time allows, let the chicken marinate in the refrigerator for several hours or even overnight.

To Cook the ChickenAdd enough of the olive oil to the tagine to coat the bottom. Arrange the chicken in the tagine (flesh-side down), and distribute the onions all around.

Add the olives and preserved lemon quarters, and drizzle the remaining olive oil over the chicken. Add the water to the tagine, cover, and place on a diffuser over a medium-low heat.

Give the tagine time to reach a simmer without peaking. If you don't hear the tagine simmering within 20 minutes, slightly increase the heat, and then maintain the lowest heat setting required for maintaining a gentle, not rapid, simmer.

Allow the chicken to cook undisturbed for 80 to 90 minutes, and then turn the chicken over so that it's flesh side up. Cover the tagine again, and allow the chicken to finish cooking until very tender.

Turn off the heat, and let the tagine to cool for about 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Moroccan tradition is to eat directly from the tagine, using Moroccan bread to scoop up the chicken and sauce. French fries are frequently served with this dish, and may even be placed on top of the chicken.



Notes: I used chicken legs instead of whole chicken - it was great
Black olives instead of green or red - don't think I'd do that again - too salty
Added carrots - nice sweetness to offset the spice

If you don't have a tagine, this dish can easily be reproduced in a large skillet at low temperatures

Moroccan Kefta

Kefta is ground beef or lamb, typically mixed with cumin, paprika, minced onion, coriander and parsley. Cinnamon, hot ground pepper, and mint leaves are optional. The recipe below shows traditional quantities of these spices and herbs.
Kefta makes a superb kebab (brochette), and it's also the foundation of a number of other Moroccan dishes. You can use lean ground meat, but the traditional recipe calls for a higher fat content. The meat, fat, spices and herbs would all be passed through a meat grinder together.

Many of the recipes I looked at had the same or similar ingredients and I really wish I could remember where I found this one.

Serves 4.
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

• 1 lb. (about 1/2 kg) ground beef or lamb (or a combination of the two)
• 3 ounces (about 100 g) beef or lamb fat (optional)
• 1 medium onion, chopped very fine
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon hot ground pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (optional)
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint leaves (optional)

Mix all ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, and leave for an hour or longer to allow the flavors to blend.(I left mine overnight) The kefta is then ready to shape and cook.
To make kebabs, take small amounts of kefta and shape them into cylinder or sausage shapes. Skewer the meat, squeezing it to mold it the skewer.(or not if you don't want to make them into kebabs)


Cook over hot coals, approximately five minutes each side. (It may take less or more time, depending on how hot the coals are, and how thick you shaped the kefta.)

Watch the kebabs carefully, so you don't dry out the kefta.
Serve immediately, or wrap in aluminum foil to keep hot while you cook additional kebabs.

The flavour is wonderful and extremely aromatic. They do have a bit of a kick to them but not too much. They're great served with tzadziki; I used Greek Yogurt and loved the combination. Add a hearty salad and life is good!

My learning: I couldn't fathom using a fuller fat ground meat - I probably should have since I did find them a little on the dry side.

Left in the fridge after cooking enhances the flavour. The second day they were tastier than after they were just grilled.

.....psssst... has anyone seen Psychgrad lately????

Grilled Skirt Steak with Moroccan Spice Paste and Saffron Yogurt

Here's a recipe I got from Dish Cooking Studio's newsletter. Their recipes are usually a bit too labour and ingredient intensive for me, but this one matched well with the spices I picked up from Turkey.















Grilled Skirt Steak with Moroccan Spice Paste and Saffron Yogurt
Serves 6-8




Ingredients:
For the Spice Paste and Steak…
1 1⁄2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 tsp sweet paprika
1/2 tsp sugar
1⁄2 tsp kosher salt
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs. Skirt Steak
(can also use flank, top sirloin or NY strip loin)

For the Saffron Yogurt…
1 pinch saffron threads
2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice + zest
1 cup 3.2% yogurt
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Kosher Salt and fresh pepper, to taste

Method
For the spice paste…
1. In a small frying pan, toast the coriander and cumin seeds over moderate heat, stirring often, just until fragrant (about 2-3 minutes).
2. Transfer to a spice grinder or a mortar and pestle. Blend or grind whole spices until reduced to a powder. Transfer to a bowl. Stir in the paprika, sugar, and salt. You can make the spice blend up to this point and store in an airtight container for several weeks, when ready to use… add garlic, and olive oil to form a paste.
3. Place steaks in a non-reactive bowl or dish. Rub the spice paste into the meat. Let marinate, refrigerated, for several hours or overnight.
4. Be sure to let the steaks come to room temperature before grilling.

To grill steaks…
1. Heat your grill to high.
2. Season the marinated steaks on both sides with kosher salt & pepper.
3. Grill steaks to medium-rare, turning once. Let rest for 7 minutes before slicing thinly across the grain.
To make the saffron yogurt…
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the saffron threads and the orange juice and zest. Let sit for 10 minutes, so the saffron will ‘bloom’.
2. Add the yogurt and garlic to the saffron/orange juice mixture. Stir to combine. Season with salt & pepper, to taste.
Note: Steak is also great at room temperature.
Make-ahead: See above note for Spice Blend. Spice Paste can be made 2 days before marinating meat. The saffron yogurt can be made 1 day ahead of time.

Alternate Serving ideas:
1. Take this high-end by using this spice rub on beef tenderloin or filet mignon steaks.
2. Serve with couscous or roasted potatoes and grilled vegetables.
3. Try this spice rub with leg of lamb or pork tenderloin.