Date Chicken

I wanted to use whole dates and date syrup in a braised chicken dish and googled the title above.  Almost every recipe that came up was either Persian or for Passover.  Some were both.  So, even though I'm making up this entire recipe based on items in my pantry and spice rack, I feel comfortable calling it an international recipe.  At some point, someone in the Middle East or North Africa has made what I'm presenting here.

I did make this on the stove, but it would work great as a slow cooker recipe.  I decided that, if I was getting a skillet dirty browning the onion with the spices, I might as well make the whole thing in it.  It's only 45 minutes of simmering, making the whole dish about one hour.  Slow cooker would be 4 hours on low or two on high.

1 Tb olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1/2 tsp each kosher salt, *ground sumac, and turmeric
*1 tsp paprika
1 cinnamon stick
*4 large chicken thighs or smaller leg quarters, skin-on
*1 can (almost 2 C) unsalted chicken or vegetable stock
*4 oz dates, pitted and split
*1 Tb date syrup
*1 Tb brandy, optional

1.  Heat oil in a 12" or 14" skillet over medium (depending on size of chicken).  Add diced onion and cook about 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until softened and starting to brown.  Add salt and spices and cook until fragrant.

2.  Lay chicken, skin side down, in the pan.  Allow to sear until skin is well browned, about 5 minutes.  Ok, yellow-browned.  Turmeric.  I knew I would be scrubbing the yellow out of the kitchen sink when I put it in the spice mix.

3.  Turn chicken over.  Add cinnamon stick, stock, dates, date syrup, and brandy (if using).  Bring to a low boil for 2 minutes to burn off the alcohol.  Turn heat down to a simmer, cover, and cook 45 minutes.

4.  Serve chicken with dates and onions from the pan and a spoonful of pan juices poured over.

Difficulty rating  π