*in some cases

Ingredients for 4 people

- 8 chicken thighs
- 3 onions, halved then cut into slices
- 1 tbs. cumin powder
- 1 tbs. curry powder
- 1 tsp. ginger powder
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 1 qt chicken stock
- 1/4 cup fresh ginger slices
- 3 or 4 cilantro stems with leaves
- 1 cup pulp free orange juice
- 4 preserved lemons
- salt and pepper to taste

Special equipment

- a tagine or a cast iron pot with lid
- or, pressure cooker (cuts cooking time 20 minutes, at optimal pressure)

Preparation

1. Sweat the onions at low to medium heat, until they are translucent. Then add the chicken thighs.

2. Add in the cumin, curry, and ginger powders, and the saffron threads, then stir until the spices are well incorporated. Add salt and pepper, about 1tsp. each.

3. Add enough chicken stock to cover the chicken thighs.

4. Cook covered on low heat for about 30 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker, skip to step 5.

5. Add the ginger slices, cilantro stems, the honey, and the orange juice.

6. Cook covered on low heat for another 30 minutes. If you are using a pressure cooker, skip to step 7.

7. Add the 4 preserved lemons.

8. Cook covered on low heat for another 30 minutes until the sauce is nice and thick (when it coats the back of a spoon). If you are using a pressure cooker, close and seal the lid, turn up the heat to medium high until it reached optimal pressure, then cook for 20 minutes on medium low heat.

9. Serve while hot, on a bed of saffron rice or couscous with raisins cooked in chicken broth.

Happy cooking!

Ingredients for 4 people

- 300 g. of porc livers, thinly sliced (about 3 cm long and 2 cm wide),
- 1 onion, thinly sliced,
- 100 g. of frozen peas,
- 10 g. of dried black mushrooms,
- 20 g. of dried porcini mushrooms,
- 1 carrot, thinly sliced,
- 1 thumb size piece of ginger, finely chopped,
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped,
- 2 tbs. of soy sauce,
- 1 tbs. of dry vermouth,
- 1 tbs. corn starch or arrow root,
- 1 tsp. of sugar,
- 5 pinches of pepper,
- 1 cup of stock,
- 2 tbs. olive oil.

Preparation

Soak the mushrooms for 30 minutes in warm water then strain them and cut them into thin slices. In a bowl, mix the starch, the stock and the soy sauce.

Blanche the liver slices for 15 seconds, then rinse them off. Dredge them in a mixture of the sugar, the pepper and the vermouth and let them rest for 30 minutes.

In a sauté pan, heat 1 tbs. of olive oil, add the ginger and stir for a few seconds, then add the liver. Cook for 5 minutes, tossing every once in a while.

Remove the liver and set it aside for later.

Using the same sauté pan, add another tbs. of olive oil, and turn the heat to medium high. When the oil is hot, add the garlic, stir for a few seconds, then add the carrot. Cook for 1 minute, all the while stirring with a wooden spatula. Add the onion, the peas, and the mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes while stirring.

Reduce the heat to medium low put the liver back in, and add the starch/soy sauce/stock mixture. Let it all simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce thickens.

Serve while hot on a bed of pasta. Garnish with parsley.

Happy cooking!