Dirky's Moroccan Honeyed Chicken-Licken

Not an original recipe - based on one from a cookbook and adapted over the years. I make this slightly different every time, but here's the basis. Tweak the spices, quantities and have fun experimenting and modifying it yourself. It's a sweet, sticky, honeyed chicken dish from Morocco and it tastes divine. Best served with couscous, spiced up with a little chilli and flavoured with masses of fresh leafy herbs (coriander, mint, basil - take your pick or mix together). The toasted almonds give it an extra nutty, cruchy dimension, and are well worth adding.

Shopping list for 4 people:
Either a whole chicken (around 2kg) or chicken joints - anything from breasts to wings will work - just make sure it's a good free-ranger; 1 litre jar of passata; 4 large onions; 2 tsp cumin powder; 1 tsp ground cinnamon; a knob of fresh ginger; 3 or 4 cloves of garlic; 4-6 tbs runny honey (dependent on how sweet you like it); 1 medium hot red chilli (or more to taste); a good pinch of saffron; 1 tsp orange flower water; sunflower oil; salt and pepper and a big handful each of toasted, flaked almonds and coriander to finish with a flourish.

Method:
Joint the chicken into about 8-10 pieces and lightly 'brown' in the sunflower oil in a big heavy-based casserole pan. Drain and remove. Peel and thickly slice the onions and fry in the same pan until softened, but not discoloured. Add the garlic and chilli (both finely chopped) to the pan and then the cumin, finely chopped (or grated) ginger and let the flavours mingle and sweat for a couple of minutes. Add the passata and bring to the boil, stirring well. Season well. Now put the chicken back into the pan and simmer for around 30-40 minutes, until cooked through. Remove the chicken pieces from the pan and keep them warm. Build up the heat in the pan and reduce the liquor by half. Add the honey and continue to reduce until 'jam-like'. Dissolve the saffron threads in a little hot water, then add to the 'jam' before adding the chicken back in and heating thoroughly through. Just before serving, add the orange flower water.

Serve on top of some deliciously herbed and spiced couscous, scatter the toasted almonds and chopped coriander on top and dig-in.