[Sca-cooks] another preserved-lemon recipe

[Sandra Kisner]

I found a stash of old cooking sections from the New York Times, and 
(amongst others) cut out an article and recipe for "garlic chicken in a 
pot" from 12/12/01.  Only after I got it home did I notice that it calls 
for half a salt-preserved lemon.  So here it is, in case there is still 
interest (with decimal fractions to avoid inter-software misconversions).

Garlic chicken in a pot (adapted from Antoine Westermann)
0.5 a preserved lemon, rinsed well
0.25 c sugar
0.33 c olive oil
16 small peeled potatoes (white or sweet) or 2 large peeled potatoes, each 
cut into 8 pieces
16 small onions or shallots, peeled and trimmed
8 carrots (peeled and quartered)
4 stalks celery, trimmed and quartered
4 heads garlic, cloves separated but not peeled
salt and freshly ground pepper
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 sprigs Italian parsley
2 sprigs rosemary
1 chicken, cut up
1 c chicken broth
0.5 c white wine
about 1.5 c flour

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.  Remove zest from preserved lemon and 
cut zest into small squares; save pulp for another use.  Bring 1 cup water 
and the sugar to a boil, drop in zest and cook 1 minute; drain and set aside.

2. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over high heat.  Add 
vegetables and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute until brown on 
all sides.  (If necessary, do this in 2 batches.)  Spoon vegetables into a 
4.5 to 5-quart lidded Dutch oven and stir in herbs and lemon zest.

3. Return skillet to heat, add another tablespoon of oil and brown chicken 
on all sides, seasoning it with salt and pepper as it cooks.  Tuck chicken 
into casserole, surrounding it with vegetables.  Mix together the broth, 
wine and remaining olive oil and pour it over chicken and vegetables.

4. Mix flour with enough hot water (about .75 cup) to make a malleable 
dough.  On a floured surface, work dough into a sausage; place dough on rim 
of casserole.  Press lid onto dough to seal casserole.  Bake 55 
minutes.  To break seal, work the point of a screwdriver between pot and 
lid.  If chicken is whole, quarter it.  Chicken may be served in the pot or 
arranged with vegetables on a serving platter.

Yield: 4 servings.
As Dorie Greenspan (the author of the article) says, "I realized again how 
flexible this dish is.  There are five variables - the pot, the chicken, 
the vegetables, the liquid and the temperature - and if you stay close to 
the spirit of the original with each, the recipe will be a success."  Such 
as deciding not to brown the chicken (whether or not you cut it up), 
vegetables used (turnips, winter squash and artichoke hearts are mentioned, 
as is using none at all), or using an earthenware or enamelled cast iron 
casserole instead of a dutch oven.