99 COOKING CAPE

1 kg chicken (I used breast, but other parts can be used as well)

Olive oil

1-2 large bulbs of fennel


2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped


A small bunch of fresh coriander


4 cloves of garlic, peeled
and sliced


2-3 small preserved lemons, deseeded and chopped


80g black and green olives, stoned

A good pinch of saffron


500ml hot organic chicken stock



For the spice rub

1 heaped teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed up

1 level teaspoon ground cumin


1 heaped teaspoon ground ginger

2 tablespoons olive oil


Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper


Mix all the spice rub ingredients together in a small bowl. Put your chicken pieces into a large bowl, massage them with the spice rub, then cover with clingfilm, and put into the fridge to marinate for a couple of hours or, even better, overnight. When you’re ready to cook, heat a generous lug of olive oil in a tagine or casserole-type
pan, and fry the chicken pieces over a medium to high heat,
skin side down first, for about
5 to 10 minutes until golden brown.

While your chicken fries, chop each fennel bulb into 8 wedges, and add these to the pan along with the onions, coriander stalks
and garlic. Stir well and fry for a couple more minutes, then mix in the preserved lemons, olives and saffron. Pour in the hot stock, give everything a good stir, then cover with a lid or foil, and simmer on a low heat for 1? hours, or until the meat starts to fall away from the bone. Halfway through, have a check and give it a good stir. Keep an eye on it and add a splash of water if it looks dry. When the time’s up and your chicken looks perfect, stir gently. If it’s still a bit liquidy, leave it to blip away with the lid off until thickened slightly.

Have a taste, season with a pinch of salt and pepper if you think it needs it, then sprinkle with the coriander leaves. Serve with a large bowl of lightly seasoned
steaming couscous.

Gnocchi with Chicken Sausage, Bell Pepper, and Fennel
recipe courtesy Cooking Light

Preparation Time: 33 minutes minutes
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)

1 (16-ounce) package vacuum-packed gnocchi (such as Vigo)
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
6 ounces basil, pine nut, and chicken sausage (such as Gerhard's), casing removed and sliced
1 cup thinly sliced fennel
1 cup thinly sliced red bell pepper
1 cup thinly sliced onion
1/2 cup (2 ounces) freshly grated Asiago cheese
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1. Cook the gnocchi according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain the gnocchi in a colander over a bowl, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Keep gnocchi warm.

2. Heat 1 teaspoon olive oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add sausage to pan; saute 3 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring frequently. Remove sausage from skillet using a slotted spoon.

3. Heat remaining 1 teaspoon oil in pan. Add fennel, bell pepper, and onion to pan; cook 13 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add sausage, gnocchi, cheese, black pepper, and reserved cooking liquid to pan; cook 1 minute or until cheese melts, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in parsley.

CALORIES 342 (30% from fat); FAT 11.5g (sat 4.3g,mono 4.7g,poly 1.6g); IRON 1.1mg; CHOLESTEROL 50mg; CALCIUM 155mg; CARBOHYDRATE 45.4g; SODIUM 829mg; PROTEIN 15.9g; FIBER 2.9g