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Slow-Cooker Marrakech Chicken Stew With Preserved Lemon and Olives

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Radiating the aromas of toasted cumin and coriander, and spiked with the salty-sour pucker of cured lemons and olives, this chicken stew produces a heady effect. If you can’t find preserved lemons in your local food markets (high-end stores usually stock them), you can order them or make them yourself.

Cooks' Note

Editor's note: This article has been updated as a part of our archive repair project.

Recipe information

  • Total Time

    2 to 3 hours on high, 4 to 6 hours on low

  • Yield

    Serves 4–6

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cumin seed
2 teaspoons coriander seed
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 pounds chicken pieces, or 1 cut-up chicken, skin removed
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup white wine
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
Juice and finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 preserved lemon, homemade or purchased, finely chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1/2 cup pitted kalamata olives

Special Equipment

5–6 quart slow cooker

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Heat a medium skillet, preferably cast-iron, over medium-high heat. Add the cumin seed and stir until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Turn off the heat, add the coriander seed, and stir for 30 seconds. Scrape the spices into a mortar with a pestle or into a spice grinder and grind until the cumin and coriander are coarsely ground. Mix with the flour, salt, and pepper in a medium large mixing bowl and dredge the chicken pieces in the seasoned flour mixture; pat off the excess flour and reserve the mixture.

    Step 2

    Heat the oil in an extra-large skillet over medium-high heat; brown the chicken pieces on both sides, in batches, about 3 minutes per side, then transfer to a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker.

    Step 3

    Reduce the heat under the skillet to medium. Add the onions and sauté until tender, about 2 minutes. Add the garlic and the reserved seasoned flour mixture and stir until the flour is lightly toasted, about 3 minutes. Add the wine and chicken broth and stir until the sauce is slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon zest (but not the juice).

    Step 4

    Pour over the chicken and scatter the chopped preserved lemon over the top. Cover the cooker and cook for 2 to 3 hours on high, or 4 to 6 hours on low, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of one of the uppermost pieces of chicken registers 170°F. Keep warm for as long as 4 hours.

    Step 5

    Remove the chicken to a platter. Stir the lemon juice, parsley, and olives into the sauce, and spoon over the chicken.

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From Art of the Slow Cooker: 80 Exciting New Recipes. Copyright © 2008 by Andrew Schloss. Reprinted with permission from Chronicle Books. Buy the full book from Amazon.

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