Chicken With Preserved Lemon And Green Olives

By Jan

This is the absolute best-known way to eat preserved lemon, and for good reason. I have two-dozen recipes for chicken with preserved lemon and olives on my shelves, but Claudia Roden's recipe from Arabesque (Knopf, 2005) is my choice for its sheer clarity and sure-footedness.
T. Susan Chang for NPR
Makes 4 servings

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, grated or very finely chopped
• 2 to 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed saffron threads or saffron powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 chicken, cut up in 8 or 10 pieces
• Salt and black pepper
• Juice of 1/2 lemon
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander
• 2 tablespoons chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Peel of 1 large or 2 small preserved lemons
• 12 to 16 green olives

Preparation

Step 1

In a wide casserole or heavy-bottomed pan that can hold all the chicken pieces in one layer, heat the oil and put in the onions. Saute, stirring over low heat, until they soften, then stir in the garlic, saffron and ginger.

Put in the chicken pieces, season with salt and pepper, and pour in about 1 cup water. Simmer, covered, turning the pieces over a few times and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry. Lift out the breasts after about 15 minutes and put them to one side. Continue to cook the remaining pieces for another 25 minutes or so, after which time return the breasts to the pan.

Stir into the sauce the lemon juice, the chopped coriander and parsley, the preserved lemon peel cut into quarters or strips, and the olives. Simmer uncovered for 5 to 10 minutes, until the reduced sauce is thick and unctuous. If there is too much liquid, lift out the chicken pieces and set aside while you reduce the sauce further, then return the chicken to the pan and heat through.

Present the chicken on a serving dish with the olives and lemon peel on top of the meat.