Chicken tagine with olives and preserved lemons

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 kilo chicken, on the bone 1 teaspoon white vinegar Juice of 1⁄2 a lemon
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger 1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon pepper
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 red onions
1⁄4 of a preserved lemon
A large handful of chopped fresh parsley and coriander
A small handful of green olives

Method:

De-skin and trim the chicken before adding to a bowl with the white vinegar, lemon juice, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix to cover the chicken and then rinse under running water. Set aside.

Slice one of the red onions and layer it on the bottom of the tagine. Add the chicken, bone- side down. Top with the spices, minced garlic, a generous sprinkling of parsley and coriander, and a few slices of preserved lemon. Cook for 15 minutes, then flip and flip again so the spices and chicken get mixed altogether but the bone side is still down. Don’t worry about uneven cooking, the tagine will ensure that the chicken gets cooked through. Add 250 millilitres of water, another generous sprinkling of the chopped fresh parsley and coriander, and another slice of preserved lemon for good measure. Cover and cook over medium high heat for 1 hour. Check halfway through cooking and add another 125 millilitres or so of water if the rest has cooked off. Top with green olives and serve warm with khobz.

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