Moroccan Tagine of Chicken with Fennel

Moroccan Tagine of Chicken with Fennel

Ingredients
  • 1 whole chicken, cut and skin-removed
  • 1 kg fennel bulbs, cut into quarters
  • 1/4 cup olive oil
  • 1medium onion, sliced into rings
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 3 or 4 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed or anise seed (optional)
  • Salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1/2 to 1 cup water handful of parsley and/or cilantro sprigs,tied into a bouquet
  • 1 or 2 handfuls of red olives
  • 1 preserved lemon, quartered and seeds removed
Directions
  1. To prep the fennel for cooking, peel off the outer layer from the bulbs, and cut off the thickest part of the base before quartering.
  2. Pour half of the olive oil into the base of a tagine or the botom of a wide pot or Dutch oven. Distribute the sliced onion over the bottom.
  3. In a bowl, mix the chicken with the chopped onion, garlic, and spices. Arrange the chicken (meat side down) in the center of the tagine or pot, and distribute the chopped onions all around.
  4. Swirl 1/2 cup of water (use 1 cup of water if cooking in a Dutch oven or pot) in the bowl to clean it of the spices, and add the water to the tagine.