Moroccan chicken tagine

This dish I had at a friend's house the other night and it was lovely, the sauce was fruity and lemony and the chicken was probably the softest chicken I have ever had. Essentially a tagine is a two part dish with a conical lid. Originally they are made of clay but you can also get steel ones these days. When one makes a dish in a tagine, it is similar to braising for a long time, however the shape of the tagine and the material it is made from is said to impart an authentic flavour to the dish. We were going to try using a proper tagine, however we had forgotten to cure it beforehand, so we opted for a heavy lidded saucepan on the lowest heat possible which worked pretty well (although some Moroccans may disagree!).

Ingredients

• whole chicken leg on bone (thigh) with skin
• 2 tsp coriander seeds crushed
• 2 tsp cumin powder
• 2 tsp dried ginger
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp of either paprika or chilli (something for a bit of a kick)
• olive oil for marinade
• 1 whole onion roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• whole fennel bulb, roughly chopped
• few strands of saffron
• 2 salted preserved lemons, cut roughly into eighths
• 250 ml chicken stock
• salt and pepper

Method

1. Marinade chicken overnight in olive oil, coriander, cumin, ginger, turmeric, paprika/chilli, salt, pepper.
2. Brown the chicken and marinade in olive oil - start with the skin side for a bit then turn to the other side for a while and then turn back to the skin side until nicely golden.
3. Add the chopped onion and fry gently until softened, for about 3-5mins. Then add the crushed garlic, fennel, salted lemon and the stock.
4. Put the lid on the pan and make sure any holes are plugged up - kitchen paper works just fine.
5. Simmer on low heat for 1.5 hrs
6. Serve with couscous or rice