Moroccan Chicken√

The chicken involved some serious showing off. I happened to have a couple of jars of Moroccan Preserved Lemons in the fridge - that I made with lemons I picked at Susie Lyons' dad's citrus orchard. Preserved lemons are an edible revelation. They transform simple salads, fish and chicken dishes into something absolutely spectacular. They couldn't be easier to make.

Moroccan Preserved Lemons
Scrub a bunch of lemons
Cut 3/4 of the way through a lemon in one direction lengthwise, turn upside down and make a 1/4 turn and cut the other way 3/4 through to the bottom
Pack the cuts with kosher salt and jam the lemons in a glass jar
Add a bit more salt and some lemon juice to cover and refridgerate
They are ready to use in a month and will last 6 months in the fridge

Chicken with Preserved Lemons & Saffron
Take a good free-range chicken
Stuff with a couple of preserved (or fresh) lemons
Place in a pan and cover (just cover) the chicken with water
Add 1 VERY finely chopped large onionAdd 1 tsp. saffron fronds
Simmer VERY slowly for a couple of hours turning the chicken every 1/2 hour or so (until the meat falls off the bones)
Pull the chicken out and let it cool a bitTake the meat off the bones and keep covered and warm.
Add some cubed (large-ish cubes), root vegetables to the stock - my favorites are turnips (any large turnip), rutabaga (swede), and celeriac and simmer uncovered for half an hour or so. The stock will concentrate and reduce.

While the roots are cooking make the couscous - the recipe on the packet works fine with a couple of extra steps at the end to make it perfect.
Bring water and oil to the boil and take off the heat.
Add the couscous and the lid of the pan.
After 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous up with a fork and place a doubled kitchen towel over the top of the pan and jam the lid down as tight as possible.
After another 10 minutes or so fluff the couscous again and 'wash' it with your fingers i.e. rub it lightly between the fingers of both hands to get rid of all lumps.

Add salt and one or more finely chopped preserved lemons to the stock i.e. until it tastes perfect
You can add other seasoning at this point (or earlier in the cooking process if you'd like).
You can also boil it vigorously to reduce it further.
Claudia Roden adds ginger and cinnamon but I never want to.
She also adds a bunch of finely chopped coriander and a bunch of chopped parsley at the beginning of the cooking process but I like to add those to the couscous just before serving - and I add either coriander or parsley rather than both.

You can serve this pretty much any way you'd like: either in separate bowls and let people help themselves or you can make up one big plate/bowl with a pile of couscous, the chicken on top, the roots all around and the stock poured around the edges.

Serve with harrissa - a moroccan hot sauce that can be found in tubes in specialty stores.