Claudia Roden’s Tagine of Chicken with Artichoke, Preserved Lemons and Olives

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Who does not love Claudia Roden?

“Claudia Roden was born to a cosmopolitan Jewish family in Cairo, where she grew up eating – and questioning the origin of – food from all over the Middle East. She began by collating recipes at a young age from everybody she met, from family members to virtual strangers. “Food was,” she explains, “a way of re-connecting with my culture – my lost heritage. And the discovery of a 13th century manuscript in the British Library eventually led to my interest in food sociology and anthropology.”

To read more on Claudia Roden, click here.

The recipe below, featured on the BBC’s website is from Roden’s most recent cookbook Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon

Prep Time: 3o min

Cooking time – 1-2 hours

You can buy frozen artichoke bottoms from Middle Eastern and Asian stores. Ingredients 3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 2 onions, finely chopped 2-3 cloves garlic, crushed ½ tsp crushed saffron threads or saffron powder ¼-½ tsp ground ginger 1 chicken, jointed salt and freshly ground black pepper ½ lemon, juice only 2 tbsp chopped coriander 2 tbsp chopped parsley 2 small preserved lemons, peel only 12-16 green or violet olives, either stoned or left whole 9 artichoke bottoms, defrosted Method 1. In a wide casserole or heavy-bottomed pan that will fit the chicken pieces in one layer, heat the oil and add the onions. Sauté, stirring over a low heat, until softened, then stir in the garlic, saffron and ginger. 2. Add the chicken pieces, season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and pour in about 300ml/10fl oz of water. Simmer, covered, turning the pieces over a few times and adding a little more water if it becomes too dry. 3. Lift out the breasts after 20 minutes and set aside. Continue to cook the remaining pieces for another 25 minutes, then return the breasts to the pan. 4. Stir in the lemon juice, coriander, parsley, preserved lemon peel and olives, then lift the chicken pieces and put the artichoke bottoms in the sauce beneath them. Add a little water if necessary and cook for about 10 minutes until the artichokes are tender. Serve with the olives and lemon peel on top of the meat

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Filed under Cookbooks, Middle-Eastern, chicken

Tags: arabesque, chicken, claudia roden, tagine