Djaj Bil Assal - Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey

I got a terrific cookbook for Christmas from my boyfriend's family - Arabesque, a Taste of Morocco, Turkey and Lebanon by Claudia Roden. Besides having fantastic-sounding recipes and beautiful photos, the cover is lovely and I like the way it's laid out, with different sections on each country's culinary traditions. Last week, I tried it out for the first time, with very good results. I made the Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey from the Moroccan section. It turned out very well, and I will definitely make it again, though with just a little less oil next time. The flavors compliment and contrast each other so well, and, though the author warns about making sure to add enough pepper so it is not too sweet, we didn't have any problem of the sort. If you are scared about cutting up your own chicken, just ask the butcher to do it or get pre-cut pieces. I served the dish over couscous, with some steamed green beans on the side. Here is the recipe as written:

Djaj Bil Assal
Chicken with Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey

1 lb shallots of baby onions
1 onion, chopped
4 tbsp sunflower oil
good pinch saffron threads
1 tspn ground ginger
1 tspn ground cinnamon
1 chicken, cut up in 6 or 8 pieces
salt and pepper
1 to 1 1/2 tbsp clear honey
To garnish: 1/2 cup blanched almonds or a handful of sesame seeds (optional)

To peel the shallots or baby onions, blanch them in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain, and when cool enough to handle, peel off the skins and trim the root ends.

Saute the chopped onion until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken pieces in one layer. Stir in the saffron, ginger, and cinnamon, then put in the chicken pieces. Season with salt and pepper, and turn to brown them lightly all over.

Add about 1 cup water and cook, covered, over a low heat, turning the pieces over, for 15 minutes, or until the chicken breasts are done. Lift out the breasts and put them to one side. Add the shallots or baby onions and continue to cook, covered, for about 25 minutes, or until the remaining chicken pieces are very tender. During the cooking, turn the chicken pieces and stir the onions occasionally; add a little water, if necessary.

Lift out the chicken pieces and set to one side. Stir the honey into the pan. Check the seasoning. You need quite a bit of pepper to mitigate the sweetness. Cook, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated, and the onions are brown, caramelized, and so soft that you could crush them, as they say in Morocco, "with your tongue."

Return the chicken pieces to the pan, spoon the onions on top of them, and heat through. A few minutes should be enough. Serve, if you wish, sprinkled either with blanched almonds fried in a drop of oil until they are lightly golden, or with toasted sesame seeds.

Serves 4.