Chicken Tajine

I was watching the food network one day and saw Ina Garten making Moroccan Chicken Tajine. I was impressed as to how easy it was to make and it wasn't very intimidating. I thought that it was a great dish because I had all the ingredients on hand!

Here is the recipe:

• 6 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped (or a lot of garlic salt and garlic powder)
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger (I used the ginger in the squeeze tube)
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika(Or Hungarian paprika)
• 1 tablespoon kosher or sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 large Spanish onion, grated (about 1 cup) (I don't like onions so I used onion powder)
• 2 tablespoons canola, grapeseed or olive oil (not a heavy olive oil)
• 1 to 2 preserved lemons, depending on size (I didn't have any lemons so I used lemon juice)
• 8 chicken thighs, with bone and skin (I used skinless boneless chicken breasts)
• Stems from the parsley and cilantro, tied with twine
• 1/4 teaspoon powdered saffron or 1/4 teaspoon powdered turmeric and 4 strands saffron (Saffron is very expensive so I didn't use that, I just used the turmeric)
• 1 cup pitted green Moroccan or Greek olives (feel free to omit this)
• 1/2 bunch Italian parsley, about 1/4 cup chopped
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, about 1/4 cup chopped
• 1 or 2 potatoes semi-boiled and chopped

In a large bowl, mix the garlic, cumin, ginger, paprika, salt and pepper, 1/2 cup grated onion, and the oil.

Rinse the preserved lemons, and remove the pulp. RESERVE the lemon peel for later use or just use the lemon juice. instead of the lemon pulp. 
Add the lemon pulp to the mixing bowl. Add the chicken. Mix everything together and place in a large plastic bag to marinate overnight in the refrigerator. (Twenty-four hours really gives the chicken the best flavor.)
In a large Dutch oven or casserole or Tajine, place the chicken and marinade; add the stems of the parsley and cilantro, the potatoes, the rest of the grated onion, the powdered saffron and 1 1/2 cups water.
Bring to a boil over high heat, turn down to a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 30 minutes.
Remove the cover, stir the chicken and continue to simmer for another 15 minutes or until the chicken is tender.
Remove the chicken to a serving dish and cover with foil to keep warm. Keep sauce on stove and begin to reduce.
Slice the preserved lemon peel into thin slices and add to the sauce along with the olives, parsley and cilantro. Reduce until the sauce is just a little thick. This shouldn't take more than 5 minutes at most.
Uncover the chicken and remove the skin from the chicken. (It doesn't look pretty and who needs the extra fat.) Pour sauce over chicken and serve.
I served it with store bought Naan bread.
You could use a crock pot to cook this in as well.

Sorry about the pictures, I took them on my cell phone:

Cooked the chicken in the sauce first, then took out the chicken and added the potatoes:

 Take out the cooked chicken:

 Reduce the sauce:

Add the cooked chicken:

Grill Naan Bread:

Finished meal: 

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