Chicken tagine with candied lemons, fennel and olives

When you're preparing a family meal, it's sometimes hard to go beyond the usual dishes for these holidays. If you want an original suggestion, Virginia, author of the gastronomic blog Sweet&Sour , has made us one for that day that will be inexpensive but very tasty. It's a very special lemon chicken tagine, with candied lemons.

You already know that cooking in a tagine is synonymous with a juicy, tender result with a burst of flavours. Virginia gives it her special touch thanks to the lemon, but also the fennel and the olives. Don't miss her suggestions!

We are almost at the doors of Christmas, and I at least, without having started them, am already saturated with typical Christmas recipes, full of nuts, foie and large pieces like turkey, salmon, seafood... So here is another much more novel proposal, but no less tasty, since it has the Moroccan touch given by the candied lemons and spices, together with the aniseed touch of fennel. A Chicken tagine , but not just any one, a classic of Moroccan cuisine, which you can serve as a presentation at a less conventional Christmas lunch or dinner, or for one of those meetings with friends where you want to show off with something special, but not expensive.

Chicken tagine with preserved lemons and olives, as I said, is a classic of Moroccan cuisine. And what better way to prepare this classic than using the ceramic tagine by Emile Henry, which, in addition to cooking the products in their own juices and over a low heat, allows us to bring it to the table in the tagine itself , keeping the heat for a long time and with a 10/10 presentation.

In fact, there are many Tajines that are suitable for cooking, but when it comes to presenting them on the table, they are a bit “lame”. This will not happen to us with the Tajine by Emile Henry , because it perfectly combines tradition and modernity. Preserving the traditional shape of the Tajine, but introducing modern and current materials and colours, which also guarantee its use on different heat sources without suffering damage.

Let's go with the recipe which is simple.

Ingredients

• 1 free range chicken cut into eighths
• 300gr of purple olives
• 1kg of fennel
• 2 small candied lemons
• 2 onions (I add purple onions from Zalla)
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
• 250ml of water
• 1/2 teaspoon saffron
• 1 teaspoon powdered or freshly grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon of green anise seeds
• 1 teaspoon salt (if necessary)

Preparation

1. First, cut the chicken into eighths, if the butcher hasn't already done so. Clean the fennel, remove the leaves and cut it first into two and then into quarters. Cut the onion into thin slices, peel and crush the garlic and finally cut the preserved lemons into quarters.
2. We put our tagine on a low heat, so that it gradually heats up, as if it were a cocotte. We add the olive oil and when it is hot, we add the chicken pieces so that they brown. When they are half browned, we add the onion slices, the crushed garlic and a candied lemon cut into quarters.
3. When everything is golden brown, add the 250ml of water (1 cup) around the ingredients, the saffron, ginger and anise.
4. Bring to the boil, taste and adjust the salt. If it is too salty, add a little more water, and if it is bland, a little more salt. This has its reason, since candied lemons are salty in themselves, and add that salt to the stew.
5. We cover our tagine and let it cook over low heat for about 35 minutes.
6. After this time, add the fennel, the rest of the candied lemon and the olives. Cover and let cook for another 20 minutes.
7. We serve it hot, accompanied by more olives and candied lemons.

A simple and very Mediterranean dish, with a Moroccan touch provided by the preserved lemons, which will surprise your guests because you cannot imagine the special and delicious touch that this mixture of flavours provides. If you like Moroccan cuisine, this is a dish that you should not miss.

Tips:

- When heating the tagine, do it as if it were a cocotte, over a low heat until it reaches temperature. The tagine is a kitchen utensil that, by changing the material and the shape that gives it its peculiarities, comes to have characteristics similar to a cocotte; keep in mind that in North Africa iron was not exactly abundant, but clay was, which was cheap and within everyone's reach. With this conical lid, which allows the heat to be maintained and the juices to be easily returned to the stew, they manage to cook the food with practically no water, in its own juices and over a low heat. This cooking gives a special flavour and texture to the dishes.

- If you have a ceramic hob, I recommend using the diffuser. I have used this tagine without it and it has not cracked. It is of quality and you can tell. It is not a simple ceramic, but it is a precaution that I usually take, because I love it very much and I do not like to have any surprises.

- You can prepare Moroccan candied lemons yourself, I will give you the recipe shortly, but if not, you can find them in Arab shops or those run by Moroccans, where they are easy to find.

- If you can't find them, replace them with the juice of a lemon and the lemon peel boiled three times, removing the water each time, to remove any bitterness it may have. It's not the same, but it will give that subtle touch of lemon aroma, which this dish appreciates so much. However, since you don't include candied lemons, which are salty, don't forget to add salt to the stew.

- It is important to use purple olives - they are juicier, they keep well during cooking and give a characteristic flavour. Other olives that you can use are the Greek Kalamata olives, which give a fabulous result.

Enjoy.