Chicken Tagine With Chickpeas

Ingredients

• 3 ½ to 4 ½ pounds bone-in chicken parts
• Hide ingredients for 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or Clarified Butter 1 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or Clarified Butter (opens in new tab) 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or Clarified Butter
  • 1 pound butter

  Sub-recipe steps

  1. Melt in a saucepan over low heat: 1 pound butter
  2. Once melted, do not stir. Skim off any foam that comes to the surface.
  3. For clarified butter, remove from the heat after the foaming ceases. Let stand a few minutes, allowing the milk solids to settle to the bottom. Carefully pour the liquid into a heatproof container, leaving the solids behind, or pour through a fine-mesh sieve lined with a coffee filter or flour sack towel.
  4. For ghee, continue heating the butter over the lowest heat possible, keeping it below a simmer until golden and brown milk solids have settled at the bottom of the pan. This can take up to 1 hour. At this slow rate, the milk solids settle nicely. Pour or strain into a container as for clarified butter.
  5. Both can be stored in an airtight container for 6 to 8 months in the refrigerator. When chilled, clarified butter and ghee become grainy. They should not be used as a spread, only in cooking.
• 1 large onion, sliced
• One 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 cup water or chicken stock or broth
• Hide ingredients for 1 medium preserved lemon, pulp discarded, rind thinly sliced 1 1 medium preserved lemon, pulp discarded, rind thinly sliced (opens in new tab) 1 medium preserved lemon, pulp discarded, rind thinly sliced
  • 2 pounds lemons
  • ⅓ cup (45g) Diamond kosher salt
  • Lemon juice to cover

  Sub-recipe steps

  1. Wash, dry, and set in a 200°F oven for 5 minutes to dry thoroughly: 2 pounds lemons
  2. Measure: ⅓ cup (45g) Diamond kosher salt
  3. Spoon 2 tablespoons of the salt into a sterilized wide-mouth quart jar. Roll the lemons on the counter to release their juice. Quarter a lemon lengthwise, stopping ½ inch from the bottom so the quarters fan out but remain attached at one end. Gently open the lemon and sprinkle the 8 cut surfaces with ½ teaspoon salt. Carefully squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl. Close the lemon and pack into the jar. Continue with the remaining lemons, sprinkling each layer with 1 ½ teaspoons salt. Pour the lemon juice into the jar. If the juice does not cover all the lemons in the jar, add: Lemon juice to cover
  4. Leave a ½-inch space at the top of the jar. Force out air bubbles by sliding a narrow spatula between the lemons and the side of the jar. Be sure the lemons are still covered with liquid and there is only ½ inch headspace. Wipe the rim of the jar. Fold a square of plastic wrap to make 4 layers and place over the top (this will protect the jar ring and lid from corrosion), then tightly cap the jar. Place the jar on a saucer and leave in a warm place for 1 month.
  5. Each day, turn the jar upside down to redistribute the salted juice. After the curing period, refrigerate or keep in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year.
  6. To use, remove lemons from the jar as needed with clean dry tongs, rinse them, and discard the inner flesh. Use only the peel.
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• (½ teaspoon saffron threads)
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ⅛ to ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper, to taste
• ½ cup chopped parsley, cilantro, or a combination
• Salt and black pepper
• Cooked white rice or couscous