Chicken is one of those foods I like to refer to as “blank slate” food. It takes on a multitude of flavors wonderfully, as in this dish, and is equally delicious simply roasted with lemon and salt. Best of all, chicken isn’t a bank-breaker, is easily stretched into multiple meals (make chicken stock for soup!), and most of us like it – so I’d call that a win-win.

One of my favorite ways to prepare chicken is a Moroccan-style tagine. With a melange of spices – from saffron to cinnamon – coupled with the salty sourness of preserved lemons and olives, this dish is pure comfort food at its best! Serve it up with saffron rice or cous cous with toasted pine nuts.

Click here for the full recipe.

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Welcome to the world of black lemons! If you’ve never had the opportunity to try these Middle Eastern goodies go to World Spice Merchants and order some. They’re completely dried and look inedible, but in fact their sweet-tartness is so flavorful you’ll want to use it in about everything: soups, stews, tagines, couscous, even sprinkled on salads. The tangy depth that the lemons add is wonderfully unusual and earthy.

We ground a couple of them (use a mortar and pestle, a clean coffee grinder or a microplane grater) and, with other spices, created a delicious North African-esque chicken dish. We just kind of created it as we went along, so sorry folks, no recipe. That’s the beauty of improvisational cooking!

Check out Syrian Zahtar and Black Lemon Spiced Chicken from The Hunger. In a word: Mmmm.

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Do you ever get tired of having rice, potatoes or pasta as your side dish? Why not try couscous? The “rice” of North Africa, couscous is used in many delicious dishes and prepared in a variety of ways. Most refer to it as Moroccan, but it is equally a staple in Lebanese, Libyan, Algerian and Tunisian cuisines, among others. While often associated with the grain family, it’s actually a coarse semolina pasta.

Couscous is so versatile you can flavor it with fruit, vegetables, seafood, meat, herbs, spices or a combination of any of these. Think of succulent turmeric stewed lamb; currents, mint and pistachios; herbs, almonds and preserved lemons. Makes me want to ride a camel to a tented oasis in the desert at sunset, have my hands washed in tepid rose petal water and eat sweet, earthy, aromatic delights with my fingers. Heavenly! (Though maybe I could leave the camel there and take a cab back? Somehow bouncing around with a full belly on a camel ruins the whole romantic Lawrence of Arabia thing).

To go with our chicken tagine last night I made couscous with red pepper, almonds, Italian parsley and preserved lemons. For about 3-4 side servings:

1 large red pepper, julienned
1/4 C toasted sliced almonds
1 small preserved lemon, sliced thin then in half
1/2 C Italian flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon zest for garnish

Sauté red pepper in a small amount of olive oil until soft. Add 1 cup chicken broth and bring to a boil. To keep the couscous moist, add 1 small pat of butter or a quick drizzle of olive oil to the stock. Add almonds, preserved lemons, couscous and stir. Turn off heat and cover for about 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork, tossing in parsley. Garnish with fresh lemon zest.

Janet Is Hungry has a lovely fresh recipe for Couscous Salad with feta. Yum! (I hope she got her dishwasher fixed!)

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