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6 pounds chicken — cut in serving piece

2 tablespoons coarse salt

7 garlic clove

1 cup vegetable oil

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 pinch saffron

3 large onion — grated

4 tablespoons butter

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup olives — pref Greek Kalamata

8 slices pickled lemon

Rub the chicken pieces well with a mixture of the salt and 4 of the garlic cloves, finely chopped. Let stand 1 hour for flavors to penetrate then wip off the garlic salt. Mix the oil, ginger, turmeric, pepper and saffron, and rub the chicken pieces with this mixture. Put them in a large bowl with any remaining oil mixture and marinate, covered and refrigerated for 8 hours or overnight. To cook, put the chicken in a large pot with the onion, remaining garlic, coarsely chopped, butter, chicken broth and 2 cups water. Simmer until tender, about 40 to 45 minutes. Remove chicken and rapidly boil the liquid down to a thick rich sauce, stirring frequently. Add the olives and pickled lemon slices, replace chicken, and reheat in the sauce. Serve with couscous or rice pilaf and a bowl of extra pickled lemons. To pickle lemons: 6 lemons vegetable oil coarse salt Sprinkle the lemons about 1/4″ thick, peel and all, put in colander, sprinkle heavily with salt. Cover with plastc wrap and drain over a bowl for 24 hours, until limp, with most of the juice drawn out. Wash off salt. Pack the lemon slices into a 1 quart jar, sprinkling them with about 2 T more salt. Fill the jar with vegetable oil. Cover the jar with lid and let lemons stand from 1 to 3 weeks, by which time they will be soft, mellow and not at all bitter. Keep pickled lemons for months in the refrigerator.

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