Braised Chicken with Onions, Capers, Lemon and Herbs 

What with all this talk about preserved lemons, I suppose anyone reading this was expecting at least something containing said rinds and fruit that would be useful to at least one discerning palette. And so it is that I am here to present one such recipe today. It's odd that I rarely cook chicken for human consumption. I cook it for my dog and feed it to him everyday mixed in with his dog food, but it is indeed something I eschew. I prefer duck and turkey to tell you the truth - and goose - but that's for another day.

Don't get me wrong. I do like chicken on occasion and experimented with something involving preserved lemons just the other day. I must have succeeded in a very big way, because, my sister Monica - who does indeed like chicken and is someone with a very  discerning palette - told me that it tasted like our Mother's chicken. Now that is praise indeed! Here is what I did: I marinated the chicken with salt, pepper, cayenne, preserved lemons and herbs for several hours and then sauteed a vast amount of onions, garlic, celery and parsley, plus a bunch of fresh sage, thyme and rosemary, took it out of the pan, sauteed chicken thighs and legs until they were nicely browned, put the vegetables and herbs back in the pan, added capers, a couple of wedges worth of preserved lemons (diced), 1/2 cup dry vermouth and 3 cups chicken stock, covered the pot and braised the chicken on the stove. This was preceded by a marinating period of about 4 hours in the refrigerator. Very simple and very delicious. I served it with 1 cup of risotto cooked with 2 cups of the chicken cooking liquid and a simple green salad. You will notice that the predominant herb is sage. It offsets the tanginess of the lemons very nicelySorry, no pictures this time around.

Serves 4-6 

Marinade

8-10 pieces chicken (legs and thighs, skin on)
1/4 cup fresh thyme (finely chopped) 
1/4 cup fresh rosemary (finely chopped)
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves (coarsely chopped)
1/2 cup fresh chopped parsley
3 cloves of garlic (smashed), more, depending on how strong you like it
2-3 wedges preserved lemons chopped
1/8 tsp. Cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)
Kosher Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

Place all ingredients in a stainless steel or Pyrex bowl large enough to fit all pieces comfortably. Mix thoroughly, cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for several hours.

Cooking the Chicken

Two onions, finely chopped
One leek (cleaned and sliced, (green part trimmed and sliced as well)
3-4 stalks celery (chopped at the bias, making about 2 cups)
EVOO
1/4 cup capers (drained)
1/4 cup dry vermouth
3 cups chicken stock

In a large enough pan to hold the chicken, saute the chopped onions, celery and leeks in a covered pan over moderate heat until they start to take on a translucent color. Remove from the pan. Saute the chicken over moderate heat until they skin takes on a crispy texture. Put the onions, leeks, the marinade juice and more lemons and parsley if you like in the pan along with the capers back in the pan with the chicken, add the vermouth and allow it to burn down somewhat before adding the chicken stock. 

Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cover the pot and cook for about an hour, periodically checking to see that it isn't boiling or sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

When chicken is done, check for seasoning, let rest for 5 minutes and serve.