Braised chicken thighs with pickled lemons

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 chicken legs
• pepper, black
• ½ lemon(s), the juice
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 large onion(s)
• ¼ tsp saffron
• ½ tsp cinnamon, ground
• ¼ tsp ginger, ground or a small corner fresh, grated
• ½ liter chicken broth
• 5 tbsp olive oil
• 4 lemon(s) – quarters (pickled salt lemons)
• 4 sprigs of parsley
• 4 sprigs of mint
• 100 g olives, black
• 500 g potatoes

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 50 minutes; Total time approx. 1 hour 10 minutes

Moroccan braised dish with salt and lemons

Split the chicken thighs at the joint. Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan-assisted oven). Peel the garlic and onion. Cut the onion into thick slices, leaving the garlic whole. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a roasting pan and sear the chicken pieces on all sides, then remove from the pan. Season with salt and pepper and drizzle with lemon juice. Pour the remaining oil into the roasting pan and sauté the onion rings and garlic. Season the roasting pan contents with salt, pepper, cinnamon, ginger, and saffron threads. Return the chicken pieces to the roasting pan and pour in the chicken stock. After the first boil, cover the roasting pan and place in the preheated oven. Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into pieces according to size. Add them to the roasting pan along with the lemon quarters. The total cooking time is 45-50 minutes. Wash the parsley and mint. Pluck the leaves from the stems and finely chop everything. Add the olives to the meat shortly before the end of the cooking time. Mix everything together and let the dish air out uncovered in the oven for about 5 minutes. This dish is best served in a tagine, a glazed, ovenproof clay or ceramic dish with a shallow bowl and a domed lid with a hole. Salted lemons are available at well-stocked delicatessens. I’ve also published a recipe for making salted lemons here on Chefkoch (they need to marinate for 3 days).