Chicken and Lemon Tagine with Green Cracked Olives

Chicken and Lemon Tagine with Green Cracked Olives

This dish is tangy and delicious. The perfect recipe for using Green Cracked Olives which are in my opinion, totally addicting! A little time consuming with all the techniques but well worth it. Save this one for a special date night or weekend gourmet indulgence. 

1 Whole chicken (about 3.5 lbs), cut up
1 onion, coarsely grated
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tsp each ground ginger and finely ground black pepper
½ tsp each ground cumin and sweet paprika
¼ tsp saffron threads, ground with a mortar and pestle
2  cups green cracked olives, pitted
1/2 Cup lemon juice, plus extra to taste
2 cups couscous
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup (firmly packed) each flat-leaf parsley and coriander, coarsely chopped, plus extra to serve
Garnish with toasted slivered almonds and thinly sliced preserved lemon rind

Directions
01
Combine chicken, onion, garlic, spices and 1 quart of water in a large casserole or dutch oven, bring to boil over medium heat, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer, turning chicken occasionally, until almost cooked through (15-20 minutes). Add olives and lemon juice and cook until chicken is tender (10-15 minutes).
02
Meanwhile, Place couscous in a deep skillet over medium high heat, drizzle with olive oil and stir through the grains. Bring chicken stock to boil, pour over couscous, stir, cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand for 10 minutes. Remove plastic wrap, season generously to taste and fluff grains with a fork.
03
Remove chicken from casserole, place on oven tray lined with foil, grill, skin side up, until brown (3-5 minutes), set aside, keep warm.
04
Meanwhile, reduce cooking liquid over medium-high heat until thick (7-10 minutes), season to taste with extra lemon juice, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Return chicken to casserole, stir through herbs and serve with couscous, scattered with extra herbs, slivered almonds and preserved lemon rind.