Chicken with apricots, cardamom, and almonds

I've not really been able to shake the idea of meat and fruit since that brief dalliance with ox cheeks and plums. For all the slow-cooked stewy vibe, meat and fruit seem to play nicely with the summer. Plus, my blinking, befuddled incomprehension at sweet flavours makes it all a bit funky/novel.This particular example came about when I was mulling over fruit recipes, and my partner suggested pairing chicken with raspberries.That may well be a concept for another time - I was not quite brave enough. But from there to chicken with apricot is a short and plausible leap. Heck, it's a path strewn with tagines. Perusing a few of those gets you to almonds, and from there a bit of cardamom seemed pretty sane.

Ingredients:

• Chicken thighs, 1 large or 2 small per person
• Dried apricots, four or so per portion (or about 200g)
• Fresh ginger, a couple of slices (really not much, about a gram)
• A large onion
• Dry cider, about 250ml
• Light stock - chicken or vegetable, about 300ml
• Ground almonds, 3tbsp
• Cardamom pods, 6

Instructions

I usually bone chicken thighs when I'm using them. It's a pure preference thing - I like the way they serve. So I boned them here. You don't have to, but that was my first step.If the apricots you're using are quite firm, soak them in the cider at this point, so they get a while to soften. Otherwise they'll be too solid and intense in the finished thing. You can also soften them by extending the cooking time; or both.Fry the chicken at a medium heat for a few minutes on each side, preferably longer on the skin side. Maybe even ten, there. The idea is to get plenty of golden colour and all those rich sticky flavours. When it's done, put it to one side.While the chicken is frying, roughly dice the onion, and slice the ginger. Split the cardamom pods (a swift bash with a pestle does it nicely) and remove the dark, aromatic little seeds. Grind these to a rough powder.Fry the onion after the chicken, and probably on a slightly lower heat. It wants to soften but not colour too much, so probably around the ten minute mark, maybe a spot less. Once it's nearly done, add the ginger and fry for a minute or two. Then add the cardamom, and stir it around for a moment, until it starts to release the aroma. Add the almonds, and deglaze with some of the cider before adding the rest of the liquid and the apricots.Ensure it's all thoroughly mixed, and put the chicken back in. Then let it all simmer on low and gently reduce for something like half an hour. You can do this on the hob, or in a medium oven.

I served mine with couscous worked through with a little harissa paste. Too spicy. Couscous with roasted vegetables would have been far better, or a couple of big wedges of roasted fennel.The apricot does dominate a bit, but the almond gives a partial thickening and a kind of creaminess without the heavy, cloying feel of actual dairy. It's not as dry as a tagine, but lightly sauced, and with that bold, aromatic, almost medicinal cardamom flavour slicing though everything. Cardamom is fucking aces. You may find six pods a bit much here, but I love the stuff. With the ginger and almond, it brings in a faint curry note, but only a slight one, retaining the freshness.