Learn to understand the fifth taste, umami, with a chicken dish rich with it

We all have to eat, but on sweltering days, who wants to cook?

My solution to that dilemma is to cook once, to provide enough food for a couple of days following. It’s an extra bonus if whatever I’m cooking doesn’t really have to be reheated.

That brings me to today’s dish: chicken with preserved lemon, olives, and capers. It’s an umami bomb of a dish, loosely based on one of my favorite Moroccan tagines, and it’s good hot, cold or at room temperature. It touches all the taste senses: a little sweet from the brown sugar, a little sour from the lemon, a little bitter from the lemon rind, salty from the capers and olives, and umami from several ingredients. More about umami in a moment.

To make this dish, you’ll want to have some preserved lemons on hand, so I’ve provided instructions to prepare them. They’ll need about a week on your kitchen counter before you refrigerate them for later use.

If you can’t wait, omit the preserved lemons and squeeze some fresh lemon juice over the dish just before serving. It’ll still be good, just not quite as good as it is with the preserved lemons.

Now, about umami: the word is Japanese, and translates as “deliciousness.” It’s the savory, meaty flavor of a number of ingredients, ranging from miso and soy to seafood, meat and cheese to mushrooms and other vegetables. Our sensation of umami can come from several amino acids: glutamate, inosinate and guanylate. You’re probably most familiar with glutamate, a component in MSG, but the amino acids occur naturally in many foods.

Do you need to know any of that to enjoy umami-rich foods? Of course not!

Instead, you can just prepare this chicken dish and know that your body is well pleased with it.

Preserved lemons

Makes 1 quart

A jar of these in the refrigerator will last almost indefinitely. Be sure the contents remain submerged in the juicy brine. Then pull out a piece or a whole lemon whenever you need to add briny brightness to a dish. Some recipes instruct you to discard the pulp, but I usually chop up peel and pulp together for an extra flavor boost.

Ingredients

6 to eight large lemons, plus additional for juicing as needed

Coarse salt, such as kosher salt.

Preparation

If the lemons are commercially grown, scrub them under warm running water to remove any wax from the peels. Prepare the lemons by trimming off their tops and bottoms with thin slices. Then cut each lemon nearly in quarters, leaving about 1/4 inch uncut. Turn the lemons upside down, and cut into quarters again, this time cutting in between the first cuts.

Sprinkle the cut surfaces generously with salt — 1 or 2 teaspoons — and mash the lemon into a clean quart-sized canning jar. Repeat with remaining lemons, pressing each lemon into the jar firmly to help it release its juices.

If the juice in the jar doesn’t cover the lemons, add more juice as needed until the lemons are covered.

Cover the jar with a tight-fitting lid and allow to stand at room temperature, shaking occasionally, for about a week. Check that the lemons are covered with juice, then refrigerate to use as needed.

Chicken with preserved lemon, olives, and capers

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Makes 4 to 6 servings

This stewy sauce is good hot, cold or at room temperature. Serve it over rice, noodles or couscous, or just enjoy it on its own. A little bit of sugar offsets any bitterness from the lemon. Because the lemon, olives and capers are all salty, you may not need to add additional salt to the dish. Taste first and make your own decision.

Ingredients

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 softball-sized sweet onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes in juice, or three to four large fresh tomatoes, seeded and chopped

2 tablespoons pitted olives, preferably kalamata

2 tablespoons capers, drained

2 tablespoons preserved lemon, chopped

1 tablespoon brown sugar or granulated sugar

Salt and pepper, to taste

Chopped parsley, for garnish

Preparation

Cut the chicken breasts into bite-sized cubes and set aside.

In a large pan with a close-fitting lid, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is fragrant, add the onion and sauté until the onion is translucent, about five minutes. Add the minced garlic and cook, stirring, a minute longer.

Add the cubed chicken and cook, stirring, until the chicken is white on all sides. There’s no need to brown it. This will take two to three minutes. Stir in the diced tomatoes, olives, capers, preserved lemon and sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, cover and reduce heat to simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is fully cooked, about 15 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve as-is, or as a sauce for cooked rice, pasta, or couscous, garnishing each serving with a little chopped parsley for eye appeal.