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1
Center a rack in the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.
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2
Using a paring knife, slice the peel from the preserved lemon and cut it into small squares. Discard the pulp.
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3
Bring the water and sugar to a boil in a small saucepan, drop in the peel, and cook for 1 minute. Drain and set aside.
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4
Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the vegetables and garlic, season with salt and pepper and saute until vegetables are brown on all sides. (If necessary, do this in 2 batches.) Spoon vegetables into a 41/2- to 5-quart Dutch oven or other pot with a lid and stir in the herbs and the preserved lemon.
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5
Return the skillet to the heat and add another tablespoon of olive oil. Brown the chicken on all sides, seasoning it with salt and pepper as it cooks.
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6
Tuck chicken into the casserole, surrounding it with the vegetables.
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7
Mix together the broth, wine, and the remaining olive oil and pour over the chicken and vegetables.
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8
Put 11/2 cups flour in a medium bowl and add enough hot water to make a malleable dough. Dust a work surface with a little flour, turn out the dough, and, working with your hands, roll the dough into a sausage.
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9
Place the dough on the rim of the pot - if it breaks, just piece it back together - and press the lid onto the dough to seal the pot.
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10
Slide the pot into the oven and bake for 55 minutes.
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11
Now you have a choice - you can break the seal in the kitchen or do it at the table, where it's bound to make a mess, but where everyone will have the pleasure of sharing that first fragrant whiff as you lift the lid with a flourish. Whether at the table or in the kitchen, the best tool to break the seal is the least attractive: a screwdriver. Use the point of the screwdriver as a lever to separate the lid from the dough.
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12
Depending on whether your chicken was whole or cut up, you might have to do some in-the-kitchen carving, but in the end, you want to make sure that the vegetables and the delicious broth are on the table with the chicken.
