Chicken with preserved lemon and green olives

It's a sunny Monday, and just the thing to put a spring in your step for the rest of the week is this lovely chicken tagine.

Chicken with preserved lemon and green olives

This is a revised version of this classic Moroccan dish, adding the coriander towards the end adds a vibrancy and freshness.

8 chicken pieces with skin on
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion chopped
2 garlic cloves crushed
1/4 tsp saffron strands crushed
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
salt & pepper
500ml vegetable stock
good bunch of fresh coriander finely chopped
peel of 1 preserved lemons, finely chopped

1. Heat the oven to 160 oc. In a large pan heat the oil and add the chicken thighs, over a fairly high heat brown off until the skin has a good colour. Set aside on a plate.

2. In the same pan add the onions and fry until golden, add the garlic and fry gently for a few minutes. Return the chicken and any juice to the pan mix well. Add the saffron, ginger, cinnamon and pepper to the pan and stir well to coat everything in the spices. Heat gently for a few moments, then add the stock.

3. Transfer this to a tagine and put in the oven for 1hour, the liquid should just cover the chicken, add some water if you need to. After an hour, remove the lid and add the lemons and olives and cook uncovered in the oven for another 20 to 30 minutes, by this time the liquid should have reduced and the chicken fall apart.

4. Add the coriander and stir well, season to taste and return to the oven for 5 minutes.

5. Serve with couscous and lots of bread to soak up the delicious juices.

Serves 4