Poulet au Citron – or lemon chicken – is a classic Moroccan dish. I've reinterpreted this delicious dish, creating my own version: Poulet au Citron vert – lime chicken .
In the original recipe, the chicken is marinated in chermoula , a Moroccan marinade made with oil, coriander, and garlic. Depending on the recipe, the chicken is then either grilled directly in the oven or first cooked in a tagine before being briefly grilled in the oven until crispy. Candied lemons are often used instead of fresh lemons.
While shopping for the weekend, I suddenly got a craving for a whole chicken. So I decided to take one home. After much deliberation about what I could make with it, the only way to prepare chicken that my mother-in-law would actually like—if she'd even eat it at all—suddenly came to mind: Poulet au Citron . That's it!
Please allow me a brief digression: My in-laws lived in Morocco for a few years some time ago. They often tell me wonderful stories about their time there. They brought back many beautiful memories and still rave about the country. One of these stories particularly captivated me—the one about my mother-in-law eating her first Poulet au Citron. The way she beamed as she told it, I knew that this experience was something special for her.
Now back to my chicken. After deciding on Poulet au Citron, I checked my fruit bowl. Unfortunately, it didn't contain any lemons, only limes. So I thought to myself, "What lemons can do, limes can surely do too, if not much better! Besides, I have all the other ingredients." So I got to work making a Poulet au Citron vert – lime chicken. To ensure the chicken browned nicely later, I mixed some honey into my chermoula before massaging it into the chicken – this time, Chez Fadi's Magic Sauce into play only at the very end. I soaked a few lime slices and garlic in the remaining chermoula. I stuffed some of this mixture into the chicken along with fresh coriander leaves. I spread the rest over the chicken. I let it marinate for at least an hour. Then the chicken went into the preheated oven and was baked until golden brown on all sides. Bon appétit!
The whole thing as a video
Chicken au citron vert | Lime chicken
Ingredients
- 1 whole chicken, ready to cook
- 1/2 bunch of coriander
- 2 parsley sprigs
- 3 Organic limes
- 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1-2 tablespoons of honey
- 2 tsp ground black and white pepper
- 5 garlic cloves
- 1/2 tsp garlic paste
- Salt
Instructions
For the Chermoula
- Wash the limes thoroughly. Grate the zest of one lime and set it aside. Then squeeze the juice of half a lime and set that aside as well.
- Wash the coriander and parsley thoroughly, set aside about half, and finely chop the rest
- Place the olive oil, honey, lime juice and grated zest, chopped coriander/parsley mixture, garlic paste, salt and pepper in a small bowl, mix well and let it sit for a few minutes
The whole
- In the meantime, thoroughly wash the chicken and let it soak for a few minutes in cold water with a splash of lime (or lemon or apple cider vinegar), then rinse well and pat dry with kitchen paper
- Rub a baking dish with a spoonful of chermoula (marinade). Place the chicken in the baking dish and generously massage the marinade all over it
- Add the remaining coriander and parsley leaves, along with the lime slices and the previously peeled and quartered garlic cloves, to the almost empty bowl and wipe off the remaining marinade with them
- Stuff the chicken with the leaves, some of the quartered garlic cloves and limes, and close it with toothpicks
- Distribute the remaining limes and garlic over the chicken and let it marinate for at least half an hour
- Then place in a preheated oven on the grill setting and cook for approximately 45 minutes until the meat is juicy inside and golden brown on all sides
- Serve with Magic and Hot & Spicy Sauce, your choice of side dish, and enjoy!
