Succulent Chicken Tagine

I got to finally use some of my preserved lemons last night....well actually I've already used a jar, but I got to use my second jar of preserved lemons, for the first time, for a chicken dish I've been wanting to try, Chicken Tagine. What is tagine do you ask? Well I had no idea, but it is a special pot that you use to cook food over a slow period of time so the meat is succulent and delicious. I don't have a tagine per se, so I used a large dutch oven pot that I had waiting for such an event in my cupboard. Though my succulent chicken tagine is not an authentic recipe, I used what I had in my house and it was still fabulous! It's a two hour process, so pour a glass of wine, get your book and get cooking.

You will need....

12-16 boneless chicken thighs, 4 large russet potatoes washed and sliced length wise (but any potato will do), 4 large carrots sliced, 1 large onion sliced or chopped, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tsp. turmeric, 2 tbsp. of Indian Marsala, 1 tsp. of cumin, 2 preserved lemons each cut in half, 1/4 cup of olive oil, 1/2 cup of unsalted chicken broth, 1/4 cup of black olive tapenade, and a little salt and pepper to taste.

Alrighty then, put one half of the oil into a pot over a medium high heat and add all the veggies (not the lemons) around the pot and add the chicken thighs and position them so they'll brown a tad. Cook and toss the chicken and veg around in the pot for about 10 minutes, turn the heat down to low and add the rest of the oil over top, stir, cover and cook for one hour, checking it now and then to make sure nothing is burning. After one hour, add the chicken broth, the olive tapenade, and two preserved lemons. Put the lid back on, sip your wine and get back to your book. Feel free to taste the broth and see if you'd like to add any more seasonings.

Serve over rice. Yum!!!!

For the record - real tagine has ginger in it, olives, cinnamon, and cilantro (aka coriander).