Ingredients
3 lb chicken, quartered*
2 chicken livers
3/4 cup onion, minced
1/4 tsp saffron threads, pulverized
1 turmeric, to mix w/saffron
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup ; water
2 to 3 tb. smen
2 tbsp fresh sweet butter
1/2 preserved lemon
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
Directions
*See "Basic Method for Preparing Poultry" recipe.
Place prepared chicken in 5 1/2 qt. casserole with the livers and
minced onion. Sprinkle with the spices and 1 tsp. salt. Toss to coat
evenly.
Puree parsley in blender or food processor with 1/4 c water. Add half
the "parsley water" and all of the smen to the casserole. Pour in 1
cup water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for one
hour, adding more water if necessary. Remove chicken to a colander
when very tender and keep warm while the sauce simmers one full hour.
Heat the 2 tb. sweet butter in a skillet; gently brown the drained
chicken quarters. Transfer to a flameproof serving dish, cover, and
keep warm.
Meanwhile, add the remaining "parsley water" to the sauce in the
casserole and, by boiling rapidly, uncovered, reduce to 1 1/2 cups.
Dump the sauce, livers, and odd bits of skin and bits in the blender.
Whirl until the sauce is smooth. Pour over the chicken and reheat.
Discard the pulp from the preserved lemon and dice the peel. Sprinkle
diced lemon peel over the chicken. Simmer 5 minutes, taste for
seasoning, and add additional salt if necessary. Sprinkle with lemon
juice and serve at once.
This is a classic dish from Fez.
From _Couscous and Other Good Food from Morocco_ by Paula Wolfert. New
York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1987. Pp. 205-206. ISBN 0-06-091396-7.
Typed for you by Cathy Harned.
Servings: 4 servings
Chicken Simmered In Smen Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Chicken; Poultry
The History of Recipes
It is quite feasible to follow the history of recipes far back into the far past, in fact as far into history as ancient Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that maybe, generally, these ancient cookbooks were just simple pictorial instructions for preparing meals.
In an interesting twist, the oldest recipe discovered so far, according to Professor Solomon Katz, is a series of stone tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who tried it feel exhilarated. Moving our culinary historical trip onwards, there were some recipe books published in the 1300s ; one book called `Forme of Cury`, and another, similary called `Curye on Inglish`. Surprisingly, these are nothing to do with the curry that is served today, but rather descriptions of the types of meals cooked for the rich and wealthy people of the period. Over the next few hundred years, the upper-class families of the West competed to offer the most extravagent banquests, and because of this chefs and their recipe collections were greatly in demand. Nevertheless, it wasn`t until the 1800s that formal cookery and cookery books became really popular. Mrs Isabella Beeton in the UK, and the equally famous Fannie Farmer in the USA, devoted much of their lives to collecting, trying out, and writing down popular recipes of the day. When we get to the 20th century, cookery publications are in great demand, as a result of higher levels of literacy, increased leisure time and being a little richer. The arrival of TV brings us TV cookery programs and the demand for the spin-off recipe books. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of computers and the internet, allowing everyone to access massive numbers of recipes such as those found on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Chicken Simmered In Smen recipe.
