Moroccan chicken with preserved lemon and olives

Although I prefer not to eat meat except on very special occasions, this time I had to give in to my boyfriend's wishes. Since we had gone through the FODMAP lists together and he had seen that I was allowed to eat chicken, he kept asking me to make some and yesterday I finally did. However, I don't think he'll want more anytime soon. Not because it wasn't nice, it was very delicious, but because at the cashier we were confronted with the fact that organic chicken is rather expensive. Not something we can afford to do that often! I had been thinking of making this classic Moroccan dish for a special occasion, because it sounds incredibly tasty. And I know it is, because my mother had eaten it on our holiday to the Provence and she enjoyed it very much. Of course there are a lot of variations to this famous recipe and mine is one low in FODMAPs, so I had to skip the onions and garlic, but I could use the green part of spring onions, which I did instead. As I mentioned I am not the biggest expert in the preparation of meat, but this one was very easy and the result was excellent, if I may say so myself. I had hoped to make it in the tagine, but I had been a bit too greedy at the butchers', so the amount of chicken was too big to fit in my small tagine! Not being used to eating meat, after just one chicken thigh I was completely full and I kept feeling satisfied until very late in the evening, which I found remarkable, because usually I feel hungry again only a few hours after the meal. Well, today we can enjoy the leftovers! Ingredients, serves 4-5 - 5 organic chicken thighs (2,3 kg meat) - 2 preserved lemons, cut in strips - 4 spring onions, the green part, cut in 0,5cm pieces (or 2 ordinary onions, roughly sliced) - juice of 1 lemon - 4 tablespoons of extra vergine olive oil - 1 big tsp of ground ginger - 1 cinnamon stick - a pinch of saffron threads - a big handful of olives - a bunch of flat leaved parsley, chopped - salt and black pepper Season the chicken with salt and rub it in its skin together with black pepper and lemon juice. In a small bowl, mix the olive oil with the ground ginger, saffron and most of the chopped parsley. Rub the mixture on the chicken thighs and put the seasoned meat in a very big bowl. Add any juices left in the small bowl and the chopped spring onions. Give everything a toss and seal the bowl with plastic foil. Let rest for 30 minutes. Take a big tagine or a capacious pan en put it on the stove. Heat a very small amount of olive oil and add the chicken with its marinade and the spring onions. Fry for five minutes, but don't bother browning the meat, for it isn't necessary. Add enough water to come half way up the chicken. Add olives, cinnamon stick and preserved lemon and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and let simmer for 1 hour. Turn the chicken every now and then. Take off the lid and turn on the heat in order to make the liquid in the pan reduce. When the consistency is to your satisfaction (I waited 5 minutes), transfer the contents of the pan to a nice serving dish. If you're using a tagine you don't have to bother. Sprinkle some fresh parsley on the chicken and serve hot with a nice salad. You could make some couscous on the side, which would be lovely infused with the cooking juices. Or, if you are going FODMAP-low, like me, just plain white rice. Enjoy!