During her recent visit to Dubai, Anissa Helou shared her recipe for quails tagine, olives, preserved lemons. She has, however, substituted the quails with chicken.
Serves 4-8 people
Ingredients
1 pod garlic, finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp black pepper, finely ground
Good pinch saffron
Sea salt to taste
4 baby chickens
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
50g flat-leaf parsley, stalks discarded, finely chopped
50g fresh coriander, stalks discarded, finely chopped
1 cinnamon stick
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
25g unsalted butter
Juice of 1 lemon
1 large preserved lemon, peel only, cut lengthwise into strips
150g purple olives, or a mixture of black and green
Procedure
Put the garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika, pepper, saffron and a little sea salt in a large flameproof casserole. Mix well. Add the baby chickens and rub well with the spice mixture. Leave to marinate.
In another pan, take 750ml water, add onion, herbs and cinnamon. Place over medium high heat and bring to a boil. Add the oil, butter and marinated chicken. Cover and cook for 45 minutes (30 minutes if cooking quails), or until the chicken are cooked through, and the sauce is reduced.
Remove the chicken on to a plate and keep warm. Discard the cinnamon stick. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer gently for 15 more minutes until the onion has disintegrated and the sauce is unctuous.
Add the lemon juice, preserved lemon peel and the olives. Cut the chickens in half and return to the pot. Simmer for a few more minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Transfer to a serving dish and serve hot with bread.
http://www.anissas.com
