Sweetly glazed and flavored with preserved lemons, this chicken, a recipe from Irene Weil, brings a Moroccan flavor to a classic French roasted chicken. Recipes like this represent the new France, with its influences from all over the world. Irene, married to a Frenchman for more than thirty years, was born in the United States to parents who came from Vienna. Even though she raised her children in France, she still has an American sense of adventure in her cooking.

　　

Ingredients

6 to 8 servings

　　2 tablespoons olive oil

　　2 onions, peeled and cut in rings

　　Two 3 1/2-to-4-pound chickens, each cut into 8 pieces

　　Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

　　1/2 cup acacia or other flavorful honey

　　3 cups white wine

　　4 whole preserved lemons (see page 171), the skin (including pulp, if you wish) cut in 12 slices each

　　1 handful of black pitted Niçoise olives

　　1 handful of chopped fresh cilantro

　　

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

　　

Step 2

Heat the olive oil in a sauté pan, and fry the onions until golden. Spoon them into a 9-by-13-inch casserole.

　　

Step 3

Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, and brown them in the same pan. Put the pieces, skin side up, on top of the onions in the casserole. Smear a little honey on the chicken.

　　

Step 4

Pour the wine and remaining honey into a saucepan, and bring to a boil. Reduce by half, and pour over the chicken. Scatter the lemon pieces and the olives around the chicken.

　　

Step 5

Bake, uncovered, for 40 minutes, or until the chicken pieces are cooked through. Sprinkle with the fresh cilantro before serving.

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