Tagine of free-range chicken with olives and preserved lemon

Ingredients

• 1 young free-range cockerel (coq beldi) or a farm chicken, whole, cleaned and gutted, about 1.2 kg
• Heart, liver and gizzard of the bird
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tsp smen beldi (aged, salted butter)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt
• a few saffron threads
• 4 onions, thinly sliced
• 1 bunch of parsley and coriander, tied together
• 2 preserved lemons, cut into pieces
• 1 small bowl of green olives
• 25 cl water

Method

1. Wash the chicken with salt and vinegar.
2. For the marinade, mix the salt, ginger and turmeric in a small bowl, add the peeled and chopped garlic clove and the water, then cut up the liver and gizzard and add them.
3. Rub the chicken with half a teaspoon of smen, turn it in the marinade on all sides and leave it to rest.
4. Peel and thinly slice the onions. Put the olive oil, onions and chicken into an earthenware tagine and brown them.
5. Add the ginger and the saffron softened in lukewarm water, pour in about 20 cl of water, stir and add the bunch of herbs.
6. Once the sauce boils, cover and cook over a low, steady heat for 45 minutes, or one hour for a larger bird.
7. Meanwhile cut the preserved lemons into pieces and slice the peel into thin strips.
8. Brush the cooked chicken with the rest of the smen and brown it for 20 minutes: on a tray (taoua) in the oven or with embers on the lid of the tagine.
9. Add the rinsed olives and the lemon pieces to the sauce, let it reduce for a few minutes and remove the herbs.
10. Place the chicken on a dish, pour the sauce over it and top with strips of lemon peel.