Moroccan food is well known, and loved, for its fantastic combinations of sweet and savoury food, where pomegranate seeds pepper fresh salads and prunes accompany dark meats to create rich sauces in tagines. This dish is a classic example of how with the addition of fruit, in this case dates, can enable take a relatively plain dish of slow cooked chicken with rice and lentils to become an altogether more sumptuous and exciting meal. In this dish there is something in the way that the fruit releases sugars which caramelises when cooking which then deepens the flavour of the chicken,

Of course sweet savoury combinations are not unique to Morocco, this coupling can be seen in all sorts of cuisines; Japanese food, like this Tempera soy dipping sauce which uses sugar to counteract the sharpness of the lemon with the salt from the soy sauce; Italians build salads with fresh figs and rich cheese;  Canadians add maple syrup to practically any dish from glazed hams to carrots; and, closer to home, here in England apple sauce is a happy addition to roast pork as is cranberry to turkey.

But it’s also important to remember that whilst this is a much tried and tested flavour combination the addition of sugar to savoury dishes needs to be within moderation. See, for instance, Jay Rayner’s review of Naamayaa Cafe which documented how swathes of sugar turned fragrant Thai food in to something “heavy and cloying“. Sugar can be an overpowering force. It can take away freshness, flatten flavours, and make dishes sickly to eat. To avoid this, as a rule of thumb, I try to abide by this rule that sugar can always be added, never taken away, and the addition of herbs and nuts at the last minute can provide a hit of freshness that can balance out some of those sugary flavours.

The dates pictured above were bought from Kofali Hot Nuts on Green Lane who sell the most amazing array of nuts and fruits at rock bottom prices. Amazing!

This recipe is courtesy of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall.

SPICED CHICKEN WITH DATES

LARDER REQUIREMENTS
4 tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 pieces of chicken, thighs & drumsticks
2 onions, peeled and diced
2 bay leaves
4 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
½ tsp ground cinnamon
150g long-grain rice
80g red or green lentils, rinsed
700ml chicken stock, hot
12 dates, pitted
1 small bunch fresh coriander, stalks removed, leaves picked and torn
Handful of halznuts, toasted

SERVES: 3-4 people
COOKING TIME: 1 hour

METHOD
Heat the oil over a medium-high heat in a large casserole. Season the chicken, brown all over and set aside.

Lower the heat and tip the onions and bay leaves into the pan. Sauté, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft and translucent, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, ground coriander and cinnamon, and stir for a couple of minutes. Add the rice and lentils, stir for a minute until everything is well coated. Return the chicken to the pan, pour over the hot stock, season, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes. Stir in the dates, cover again and simmer for 15 minutes, until the chicken is cooked through and the rice and lentils are tender. Remove from the heat, taste and adjust the seasoning, and stir in most of the fresh coriander. Serve with the remaining coriander and hazulnuts scattered over the top.