Chicken, Moroccan Style

When I was a newlywed, we didn’t just eat Sunday dinners at Tom’s folks’ house. We lived there! So we ate dinner with them most every night. I got to hone my cooking skills on the family, since most evenings, no one else was too keen on preparing anything. I had bookmarked all the Betty Crocker recipes I was planning to try, and most of the meals I made were well-received.

But my in-laws were classic meat-and-potato folks. So the first time I made an ethnic dish with raisins and green olives, Tom’s dad looked pretty alarmed. He was very polite, but I knew I had gone beyond his threshold for culinary adventure.

I’ll admit, Betty Crocker’s version of “ethnic” didn’t seem totally authentic. Years later, I’ve discovered a Moroccan recipe we really enjoy. It’s exotic. It’s different. It’s delicious!

Enjoy the savory/sweet flavor combination of green olives, lemon peel, and raisins, with extra texture from the toasted, slivered almonds.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 free-range chicken
• 2 lemons
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 4 bay leaves
• 2 TBS. fresh rosemary
• 2 TBS. olive oil
• 1/2 c. raisins
• 1/2 c. green olives, pitted
• 1/3 c. slivered, toasted almonds
• Fresh parsley for garnish
• 2 TBS. fresh mint, chopped

PREPARATION

A day ahead (or several hours earlier), prepare chicken by cutting whole fryer into pieces (or use 5 lbs. or so drumsticks, thighs, etc.). It helps to cut chicken breast pieces in half, as they will cook better that way.

Use potato peeler to get the peel off the lemons. Set aside several lemon peels to use later for garnish.

Prepare marinade. Add the following to a dish, to marinate chicken in: > Peel from 2 lemons (reserve some though) > juice of 2 lemons > 1 tsp. salt > 1 tsp. cinnamon > 4 bay leaves > 2 TBS. fresh rosemary > 2 TBS. olive oil

Coat the chicken pieces with the mixture and let marinate in refrigerator overnight, or at least several hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Arrange marinated pieces of chicken in large pan for baking. Bake until done, about 25-35 minutes.

Set baked chicken aside to rest; deglaze pan by adding liquid: > 1/4 c. red wine or water

Add raisins and olives to pan, stirring on medium heat until heated through.

To serve, spoon pan juices over chicken, garnish with the chopped almonds, parsley, and mint.