- 3 lbs. chicken thighs – boneless, skin removed
- 2 cups chicken stock
- 1 cup orange juice (freshly squeezed)
- 1 sliver orange peel (optional)
- 1 lemon
- 2-3 T. harissa
- 2 T. Hungarian sweet paprika
- 1 T. cumin
- 1 t. turmeric
- 2 t. salt
- 1 t. pepper
- 1 fennel bulb
- 1 leek
- 3/4 c. kalamata olives (pitted)
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 handful fresh mint leaves
Instructions:
- Get your dutch oven or tagine out and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
- Prep veggies: remove sliver of orange peel, set aside. Juice orange to make 1 cup of juice (add water or juice to fill remaining). Peel the 10 garlic cloves. Keep them whole. Pit the kalamata olives. Slice and clean the leek. Dice and trim the fennel into bite size pieces. Set aside.
- Prepare the chicken: Note: you can use skin-on and you can use chicken legs and thighs. I like thighs only and I like it without the skin – less fattening. But still delicious. Peel the skin off the thighs, if necessary, and season with 1 t. salt and 1/2 t. pepper.
- In the dutch oven (or tagine) put the 2 cups of chicken stock, 2-3 heaping tablespoons of harissa, 1 cup orange juice, 2 T. Hungarian sweet paprika, 1 T. ground cumin, 1 t. turmeric, 1 t. salt, and 1/2 t. pepper. Mix mix mix until fully incorporated.
- Toss the leek, fennel into the dutch oven. Add the remaining ingredients: 10 peeled garlic cloves (whole), 1 fresh lemon (cut into wedges, seeds removed), 3/4 cup kalamata olives (with seeds removed), and 1 handful of fresh mint leaves (chopped). Mix. Add the chicken pieces to the pan – and you’re ready to go.
- Cover with the lid – place into the preheated oven. Bake for 1 hour.
- After 1 hour, remove the lid, and continue to bake for 30 minutes. (Why? Because this gets the top of the chicken slightly crunchy and the sauce to further reduce). After 30 minutes – remove from the oven and serve with lots of the sauce on top of Israeli cous cous.