Moroccan Chicken with Green Olives and Lemon

I saw a recipe on another blog  I visit regularly that looked fabulous and then I realized I'd made it before several months ago. One of the negatives about posting daily on a blog is that it becomes a challenge finding new and different things to showcase; however, this chicken dish loaded with lemon and green olives is certainly good enough for a repeat.

As you can imagine, it has been an incredibly busy week and with the final of 3 moving quotes taking place last night at the same time I should have been preparing dinner, something quick and tasty was the order of the day.

This one includes skinless boneless chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper, dredged in flour and browned until golden brown, joined by golden sauteed onions, lemon wedges and chicken stock. Seasoned with all manner of exotic spices and finished with green olives and a dusting of cilantro and parsley, it was absolutely perfect nestled into a bowl along with a scoop of whole wheat couscous. 

The bonus of course, is that it all took a mere 30 minutes to hit the table and it is absolutely delicious. Period! Hit the link here and head to epicurious.com for the official recipe if you wish, but my lowly version is listed below. It's not different than the original by much except that by dredging the chicken thighs in flour before browning them, gives more flavor to the end result and better sauce too.

By the way if there's just 2 of you, feel free to cut the recipe in half. I did last night, but I did put in the whole onion as well as 2 really small Meyer lemons from our tree. Just sayin!

Moroccan Chicken With Green Olives and Lemon (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from epicurious.com)

2 tablespoons olive oil

8 skinless boneless chicken thighs cut in half

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

Flour for dredging

2 lemons, 1 cut into 8 wedges and the other juiced

1 large onion, cut in half and thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

1/2 cup green olives

Chopped parsley and cilantro for garnish

Heat oil in a Dutch oven until shimmering. Season chicken thighs with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Brown well on all sides in batches. Remove from pot and set aside. Add onions and sauté until golden brown – about 5 minutes. Add garlic, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and ginger and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly. Stir in chicken stock and return chicken to the pot. Add lemon wedges. Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Remove cover from pot and simmer for 5 minutes to reduce liquid slightly. Stir in olives and lemon juice. Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper as required. Garnish with parsley and cilantro. Serve with rice or couscous. Serves 4 to 6

A year ago - Shredded Apple Pie

 

Comments

[Lorraine]

I have made this tagine myself and it is a great dish...really a special combo of spices. Yours looks delish.

[Lea]

That looks lovely - I wish I were as brave as you and Lorraine! I can dream through you!

[June]

Brave...are you kidding me. You're the bravest woman I know! Is it the olives that are getting ya? Leave 'em out and/or add raisins and nuts and you'll have it made.

[Shaun]

Lovely dish this, we have it regular, a friend brought me back a tagine from Morocco, I cant manage the cinnamon, hate the stuff...but I add some harrissa paste, some dried apricots and green olives stuffed with pimento. Keep meaning to try brandy soaked prunes in it too for extra sweetness?

[June]

Shaun - I have a tagine on my wish list, never mind the trip to Morocco to pick it up. Tee,hee! Good idea re the harrissa paste and as for the brandy soaked prunes, you're on to something there. Come to think of it I'd like to have the brandy without the prunes at this very moment.

[Shaun]

Ha!..well I'm 7 hours ahead here (about 10pm?) so my wine is suitably uncorked! By the way the dried apricots become very sweet and soft in the tagine, good alternative if you dont like olives!

[June]

And here the mountains are turning pink, so it's time to drink. I agree dried apricots are the bomb in anything braised.