Squawkin' Moroccan

When I made this dish, my mind went to an old friend of mine, Pat in Montreal. Pat was a raconteur of sorts, telling womanizing stories, jokes and numerous funny stories. He was obviously talkative and also of Moroccan extraction.

Ergo, he got the moniker of being the Squawkin' Moroccan and this dish involves a chicken. You do the math!

I've been dyin' to make this Moroccan dish but I wanted to do it justice...serve it in a Tajine. A Tajine is an earthenware vessel that's also sometimes painted or glazed. it's used to cook in Moroccan and other North African cuisines.

The first time I tried a Tajine was at a Moroccan restaurant here in the city. The dish read to me like poetry and I was even assured (by the menu) that my Tajine dish would be presented in...a Tajine.

My anticipation of the dish flattened when it was served merely on a plate. I asked the waiter to comeback and take my dish and re-serve my dinner in a TAJINE, DAMMIT!

For those not in the know, Tajine is a term to also describe any recipe or dish that's cook in one. The recipes are numerous, ingredients plenty. What is a constant in all these Tajines is that a slow braise of the meal takes place. This is slow food people, embrace it!

As I'm not one to veer too much from a recipe when I first try it, the ingredients I used remained largely the same. I used coriander seeds rather than chopped fresh coriander as I have a Coriander-hatin' family. All apologies to those who love Coriander but it's sparsely used in mainland Greek cuisine and we are not so accustomed to it's floral pungency.

This dish comes courtesy of the Australian-produced show called Food Safari. The saffron adds brilliant colour to the dish, the potatoes thicken the sauce and the fresh ground cumin permeate the entire home.

This dish looks exotic, smells exotic, tastes exotic. I have never been to Morocco but after eating this dish, I'd like to!

Chicken Tagine With Preserved Lemons & Olives

2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1/2 preserved lemon, rinsed and thinly sliced
2 onions, chopped
½ birds eye chilli
1 tbsp sweet paprika
1 tbsp ground cumin
salt
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, stems and leaves
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads, soaked in a little water
1/2 cup olive oil
2 bay leaves, torn in half

1 whole chicken, size 10 or 12
1 tomato, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 large potatoes, cut into wedges
1 onion, sliced
1 tomato, sliced
150g pitted green olives
1 bunch fresh coriander, chopped
1 cup water
1 preserved lemon, cut into 6 segments.

1. Marinade: Process all ingredients together in a food processor until finely chopped and thoroughly combined. Leave for 30 minutes before using. Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to seven days.
2. Wash and dry the chicken and remove backbone, wing tips and any excess fat. Cut into pieces. Rub all over with ½ of the chermoula marinade and refrigerate overnight or for at least 2 hours.
3. Combine the tomato and onion with a little more chermoula and spread into the base of the tajine (this will prevent the chicken from burning on the bottom). Arrange chicken pieces in the centre of the tajine on top of tomato mixture. Coat potato wedges with chermoula and arrange around chicken. Top with onion slices, then tomato slices and olives in between the potato wedges.
4. Mix chopped coriander with remaining chermoula and water. Pour over mixture. Decorate top with preserved lemon wedges.
5. Cover tajine with lid and cook on a very low gas heat for 45 minutes. Do not stir or lift the lid during the cooking process.
   
6. Serve the Tajine directly to the table and impress your guests with a waft of fragrant steam when it’s time to serve with couscous and harissa.

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