Chicken Tagine with Olives and Cinnamon

Last winter, I helped do the food prep on the shoot for Paula Wolfert’s new Moroccan cookbook and fell in love with all of the scents and flavors of this cuisine. It was these memories that inspired me to choose a Moroccan mean for our first Wednesday market dinner at the Big Bottom Market. I used boneless thighs, but you can use ones with the bone in as well, and just increase the cooking time. I have flour as a sauce thickener, but you can omit that to make it gluten-free. The sauce will just be more liquid. All of the aromatic spices make the kitchen smell divine! I served it over couscous with diced, dried apricots and minced parsley. Its a delicious, warming fall meal.

Chicken Tagine with Olives and Cinnamon
12 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons of butter, divided
2 tablespoons of olive oil, divided
4 cups of sliced onions
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
18 pitted green olives
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cups chicken broth
3 tablespoons fresh lemon
1/4 cup slivered preserved lemon
1/2 cup parsley, minced (garnish)
1/2 cup fried almonds chopped (garnish)
1. Sprinkle chicken with pepper and salt. Melt 1 tablespoon each of butter and oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Brown the chicken in batches, adding more oil and butter when necessary.
2. Add onion and ginger to pan and saute 8 minutes, stirring frequently. Add olives and saute for a minute. Add flour and spices and cook for another minute, stirring constantly.
3. Add broth and bring to a boil, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Cook for a minute.
4. Return chicken to pan and cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 12 minutes or until chicken is done. Stir in lemon juice and adjust seasoning.
5. Serve over couscous with minced dried apricots and parsley. Garnish with fried, diced almonds minced parsley, and preserved lemon.