From the story: Beyond the Plate: Food as a Medium for Artistic Expression.
This exotic multi-flavored, multi-textured chicken dish comes with bragging rights. Everyone in my family loves it and can’t get enough. It is so special that it is worth the time it takes to make. For a seamless cooking experience, organize all your spices on the counter before you start – a little preparation goes a long way. Additionally, if you make the rub and marinate the chicken in it the night before, along with preparing the onion sauce ahead of time, it will take very little time to cook for dinner the next night.
NOTE: Before you get started making this recipe, it is best to go easy on the salt until you add the lemon preserves and see how it ends up. The lemon preserves are very salty and the entire dish absorbs salt from them.
Bright Lemon-Preserves and Olive Chicken with Prunes and Exotic Spice Infusion
Servings 6
Ingredients
Chicken.
- 3 pounds chicken thighs, skin on and bone in
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 2 tablespoons olive oil for cooking
Chicken rub.
- ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon paprika
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger powder
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1-2 pinches saffron powder or crumbled saffron threads
- ½ teaspoon ground powdered garlic
- ¾ teaspoon dried cilantro can substitute 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro.
- 2 tablespoons lemon juice for marinating
- 1 tablespoon olive oil for marinating
- 2 preserved lemons, with the skin on and cut into quarters with seeds removed
- 2 preserved lemons with insides scooped out and seeds removed. Discard the skin.
- 1 cup green olives, pitted
- 1 cup prunes, pitted and cut into small bite-sized pieces
- ⅛ cup raisins (optional) for additional sweetness
Onion-Spice Accent Sauce.
- 2 medium to large white or yellow onions, very thinly sliced
- 3 to 4 medium to large cloves fresh garlic, pressed
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped cilantro can substitute 1 tablespoon dried cilantro
- ½ stick cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons olive oil for cooking
- 1-2 pinches saffron powder or saffron threads
Instructions
Chicken.
- Wash the chicken, place it on paper towels to dry, and then set it aside.
Chicken Rub.
- Add kosher salt, paprika, ground black pepper, ground ginger, ground turmeric, saffron, ground garlic, and cilantro together in a bowl, and mix them. Then, add lemon juice and olive oil, and mix everything well.
- Rub the mixture under the skin of the chicken pieces and on top.
- Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag. If there is any leftover rub in the bowl, add it to the bag as well. Shake the bag to evenly coat all the chicken pieces.
- Let it sit for 30 minutes to overnight in the refrigerator. In the meantime, begin making the sauce.
Onion-Spice Accent Sauce.
- In a Dutch oven or deep saucepan, sauté the onions and pressed garlic in 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Continue cooking over low to medium heat until the onions become extremely soft. During this time, check intermittently to ensure they do not burn. If the bottom of the pan starts to get dry, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil.
- While the onion and garlic mixture softens, mix ground black pepper, kosher salt, turmeric, cilantro, cinnamon, and saffron in a bowl or cup. Add this spice mixture to the pan, making sure there is enough moisture to prevent burning and sticking of the spices. If needed, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, and continue cooking on low to medium heat until the onions become soft enough to mash with a spoon or fork, forming a thick blended mixture. (Be sure to discard the cinnamon stick.) This process may take 30 minutes to one hour to reach an evenly mashed consistency. If the mixture becomes very soft but isn't in a pasty form, you can blend it for one minute in the blender or Nutribullet.
- This Onion-Spice Accent Sauce can be set aside in a tightly covered container overnight or used immediately.
Cooking the chicken.
- Preheat oven to 350℉.
- Remove the chicken from the refrigerator. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a Dutch oven, and then place the chicken into it. Put it in the oven and bake for 20 to 30 minutes until partially done. Remove from the oven and add the Onion-Spice Accent Sauce and the chicken broth; mix everything together, covering all the pieces of chicken. Add the green olives, prunes, lemon preserves, and optional raisins. If you feel the sauce is too thick, you can add a little water and mix. Cover the Dutch oven and put it back into the oven. Continue baking for approximately 20 minutes or until the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 165℉, as measured with a meat thermometer.
- Continue checking along the way to ensure the sauce is not too thick. If it is, you can add a little more water and adjust the taste by adding additional spices if necessary. The end result should be a saucy consistency but not too thin.
Notes
This saucy dish is fantastic when served over a bed of millet or next to a bed of mashed potatoes.
