Moroccan Chicken Salad with a Preserved Lemon, Green Olive and Coriander Dressing

An extremely popular lunch time recipe from my days working at 'Caracoli', the high end food store/coffee shop in Hampshire and Surrey. It is best made a day or two in advance for the flavours to develop, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Serves 6-8

Ingredients

• 6 chicken breasts, skin on

• 1 tbs olive oil

• 175ml vegetable or chicken stock

• 2 small preserved lemons, chopped

• 100g pitted green olives, sliced

Dressing

• 1 lemon, zest and juice

• 1 tbs white wine vinegar

• 1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed (optional)

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 1 tbs soft light brown sugar

• 175ml olive oil

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tbs fresh coriander, chopped

Topping

Extra chopped coriander and sliced green olives

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/Gas 4. Place the chicken breasts, skin side up, in an ovenproof dish or roasting pan. Brush the skins with 1 tbs olive oil and pour the stock around them so that they are partly covered. Cover loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes or until cooked. Allow to cool in the stock.

To make the dressing, combine the lemon zest and juice with the vinegar then add the garlic, mustard, sugar and oil. Season, mix well and add the chopped coriander.

Lift the chicken from the stock, remove the skins and tear into chunks using your fingers. Place the chicken in a bowl and add the preserved lemons and green olives. Pour over the dressing, stir then cover and keep in the fridge. When ready to serve, arrange the chicken on a platter and scatter with a little chopped coriander and some sliced olives.