International Recipes
Chicken with Olives
This excellent Middle Eastern dish is a particularly Moroccan specialty.
Ingredients
- 1 large roasting chicken (about 4 pounds)
- 2 1/2 tablespoons oil
- 2 onions, sliced
- Salt and black pepper
- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 pound green or black olives
- Juice of 1/2 lemon, or more
Instructions
- Wash the chicken and wipe it with a damp cloth.
- Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add about 3/4 cup water very gradually, stirring
vigorously.
- Add onion slices, sprinkle with salt, pepper, ginger, and paprika, and
lay the chicken on top. Cook over low heat, covered, for 1 hour, turning the chicken
frequently. Add a little more salt if necessary, and the finely chopped onion, and
cook for 1/2 hour longer.
- Pit the olives. Put them in a pan, cover with cold water, bring to the boil,
and leave for 1 minute. Drain off the water and repeat the process. This will remove
excess salt.
- Add the olives to the pan and cook with the chicken for a few minutes
only.
- Just before serving, squeeze a little lemon juice over the dish. Sometimes a
few pickled lemon slices are added just before serving.
- Serve with plain boiled
rice or couscous.
Serves 6.
Source: A Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden