Moroccan chicken and lemon tajine with Alassala - Organic Argan Oil (Healthy recipe)

A little while ago, I came across a press release for Alassala's distribution of Organic argan food oil in the UK.
I used to use Argan oil for Mediterranean dishes after I bought some in Morocco.
I love the nutty taste of it and it is a super healthy oil.
Unfortunately, I have never seen it in the UK.



You can now buy it online ;-) ;-)

Alassala

As well as other products imported from Morocco : Olives, Olive Oil, Preserved lemons, Gherkins, Amlou paste, and cosmetic argan oil.

I will be reviewing the oil and tell you a bit more about the benefits shortly in a different post.


Back to our tajine :
I grew up with a Moroccan Nanny.
She was born in Oujda and came to my country after completing her history degree.
She used to spend hours and hours making delicious Moroccan pastries every time my parents were entertaining guests.
But on a daily basis, she used to feed me with the most amazing Moroccan dishes, all made in the tradition of the women in her family.

I will post the traditional recipe IN the tajine next week.
In the meantime, most of us do not have a tajine dish at home.
I have therefore twisted the technique to my own (Afwan Saliha ;-) )

I served it up with some Moroccan spiced carrots.

Update : 

Win your own Alassala's Organic Argan cooking oil and Alassala's olives of your choice soon.

A new competition to win the above will start on 20th August.
Come back to this site to enter through the rafflecopter on the competition post (Will be published 19th August)

See the range of olives here : Alassala's olive range

Recipe: 

Feeds : 2 big eating adults or a family of 2 adults and 2 children
Preparation time : 15 mins
Cooking time : 30 mins to 1 hour (Depends on the size of the potato chunks)

Ingredients :

For the Tania:
- 1 chicken or 6 chicken thigh pieces
- 3 tbsp groundnut or other neutral oil
- 1 onion
- 1 to 2 baking potatoes
- 200ml chicken stock
- 1/8 tsp ground ginger
- Saffron, to your liking
- 2 tbsp organic argan oil
- Green olives, to your liking
- 1/4 preserved lemon
- A small bunch of parsley
For the carrots:
- 240 carrots
- A dozen coriander seeds or 1/4 tsp ground coriander
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1 to 2 tbsp oil (neutral, olive or argan)

Method :

1. Heat the neutral oil in the casserole or pan on high heat

2. If you are using a whole chicken, chop the chicken in 6 to 8 pieces







3. Whislt the oil is warming up, peel the onion and chop in half lengthwise
4. Remove the bottom part (core) in a triangular pattern









5. Place the pieces of chicken in the hot oil, skin down to brown the skin







6. Whislt the chicken is browning, chop the onions in thin slices

7. Remove the chicken from the pan and discard the excess fat
8. Lower the temperature and gently sweat the onion slices until soft







9. Whilst the onions are softening, peel the potatoes and chop the in quarters or wedges

10. Dilute the stock cube / concentrate in boiling water. Use a little of the hot stock to dilute the saffron and add it back to the stock. Mix the ground ginger into the stock. If you are using cubes or concentrated stock, do not add any salt

11. Place the chicken back in the pan, on top of the onions
12. Place the potatoes between the pieces of chicken
13. Pour the stock over and bring to the boil

14. Lower the heat to the minimum setting and drizzle the argan oil over the chicken and potatoes
15. Leave to cook lid on for 15 minutes











16. Chop the lemon into wedges or slices and add them on top
of the chicken








17. Add the olives into the sauce. If the potatoes have absorbed most of the liquid, add some water
18. Place the lid back on and leave to cook on a bare simmer for another 10 minutes or until the potatoes and chicken are cooked through



19. When the potatoes are soft, remove the chicken from the pan and reserve on the side
20. Bring the sauce to a boil and carry on boiling until thick
21. Chop some parsley and mix in to the sauce
22. Place the chicken back into the pan and serve immediately

I served this tajine with some Moroccan spiced carrots. You can prepare the carrots whilst the tajine is cooking or even the night before.

1. Peel the carrots and chop into rough pieces, 1.5 cm thick
2. Boil the carrot pieces in salted boiling water (5 to 7 minutes)





3. Meanwhile, toast the coriander seeds (if using). Heat a frying pan
on medium to high heat and add the seeds. Cook, shaking until the fragrance bursts out and the seeds are browning

4. If using the coriander seeds, crush them with a pestle and mortar

5. Add the cumin powder (and the coriander
powder if using)
6. Pour the oil over the spices and beat with a fork
7. When the carrots are cooked, drain and place in a salad bowl
8. Mix in the oil and spices.
Serve warm or at room temperature




 Disclaimer : A big thank you to  Alassala for providing the Organic Argan oil, olives and lemon. It was entirely my choice to make this tajine and use the products featured. Alassala has not sponsored this post nor requested any features.