Chicken with Preserved lemon, olives and artichoke stew

I made "wet lemon peel" - preserved lemon a few weeks ago. I am amazed how fast and simple it is when the weather is warm and sunny. The preservation process just went so much faster. A batch of lemon used to take me 6-8 weeks in Minneapolis during the cold season verse just 4-5 weeks here. The best part is: I got fresh lemon at the farmers market. It is the end of Eureka lemon season, I had to take advantage of those beautiful lemon!

A few people asked me what I do with the lemon... I donʻt make Prune Mui all the time! Itʻs a special treat I make it once a year. Preserved lemon is great to have on hand. It works great with sore throat. 1/4 of the lemon smashed up with hot water, sip it while itʻs hot. Itʻs very soothing. I also add strips of lemon in steamed fish or some of the shoyu base sauces.

The other reason: I love Moroccan cooking. Here is a recipe very similar to the classic tagine. Here is the trick with this recipe - you donʻt need any salt. The salt from the olives and the lemon is enough. I also used the packaged steam artichokes from Trader Joeʻs, itʻs less salty. If you are using the can or jar, please make sure you rinse it and drain well before use.

You will notice I use chicken thigh here. I prefer chicken breast usually, but the meat gets very dry in a stew. The thigh meat on the bone gives the stew more flavor, and the meat stay moist. It is a bit more work to remove the skin and fat, but it is well worth the extra step. You can also purchase skinless and boneless thigh if you prefer.

I also leave the carrot and potatoes in bigger piece, I would love to still "see" them in the stew. If they can cut too small, they will completely disintegrate in to the sauce. The potatoes in this dish also helps to thickened the sauce.

Chicken with Preserved lemon, olives and artichoke stew
3-4 chicken thighs about 2 lb.. Skinned and fat removed.
1 onion, peel and cut into 1/2" pieces
2 cloves garlic. Peeled, end removed and roughly chopped.
4-5 green-top carrots, cleaned and peeled. Cut into 1" pieces. I am using red carrot, the regular carrot will be fine too.
4-5 potatoes, cleaned and peeled. Cut into 1" pieces. I happened to have a few purple potatoes that I need to use up
1 package or 1 can of artichoke heart. Drained and quartered.

1 tsp Herb de Providence
1/2 black olives. Rinse in cold water, drain. half the larges pieces.
1/2 perserved lemon.
2-3 tbsp olive oil
3 cups low sodium stock - chicken or vegetable
1/2 cup Greek yogurt or sour cream if you prefer a heartier dish. I am using yogurt cheese I made, it is slightly thicker than Greek yogurt.
1/4-1/3 cup finely chopped Italian Parsley
1 lemon, cut in half and reserve 3-4 slices for garnish. Leave the rest in half.
Pepper to season
Directions:
Rinsed the preserved lemon under cold water to move some of the salt.

Cut the lemon in 1/2. Chopped 1/2 the lemon and reserve the other half for later used. Keep the unused 1/2 in covered container in the fridge.

 In a medium pot, heat a 2-3 tbsp olive hot till hot over medium heat. Add the onion

 Once the onion caramelized, add the garlic and sauté till lightly browned.

 Add in carrot and potatoes to brown. About 4-5 mins. Remove the vegetable.

Brown the chicken in the same pan. The chicken may stick at the beginning. Lower the heat to render the fat in the meat.

 While browning the meat on both side, add 1tsp of Herbs de Providence. Once the meat is well browned. Remove the meat from the pan.

 Add 2 cups of stock in the pan, bring to a boil

 Deglaze the pan over low heat. The stock will thicken slight with the flavorful "brown bits" from the chicken and the vegetable.

Once the stock comes to a boil, add chicken and vegetable back in. Keep at low heat.

 Add in preserved lemon

 Olives

 Artichoke and season with freshly granted  pepper

Combine well and add reminding cup of stock

 Bring to a boil, lower heat to low. Cover

Let it simmer over low heat for 30 mins till the chicken is very tender.

 Add chopped parsley, mix well.

 Add yogurt, then bring the stew to boil.

 Finally squeeze juice of the 2 halves of fresh lemon in the stew. Check for seasoning. Ready to serve.

To serve: the chicken piece can be served whole  with the vegetable
Or
Remove the chicken from the stew. Debone the chicken and return the meat to the stew.
Garnish with parley and lemon twist.

Serve 2-3

Enjoy
Aloha