Chicken With Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey (Djaj Bil Assal)

There’s this highly technical term that we use all the time in medicine.

“Negotiation.”

“Negotiation” is what us doctors do when we are trying to promote patient adherence. Or, in layman’s terms, how we get patients to actually follow the treatment plan that we set out for them.

As it turns out, most people don’t like to take antibiotics for the entire week that they are prescribed for. (Five days of pill popping! How egregious! But you know what’s even more egregious? Penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae. Just do the full course of medication. Trust me.)

People also don’t seem to want to implement any kind of lifestyle changes. I mean it’s kind of the same deal as New Year’s Resolutions. You are totally gung-ho about them the first week. You go to the gym every day. Eat your 5-A-Day. Take the long way home from work just so you won’t pass by those tantalizing golden arches. (They’re so…yellow. Who could resist?) But then you think, hey, I’ve been really good this week. I deserve a reward. And really, how much damage will one Super Sized Extra Value Meal do…(1500+ calories worth of damage. That’s how much.) But the thing about this kind of stuff is that it’s a domino effect. With the endpoints being coronary artery disease and insulin resistance. Neither of which are fun. Again. Trust me.

So to get people to adhere to the treatment plans that we prescribe for them. We negotiate. Bargain. Bribe.

For example:

I will only give you this prescription for Viagra if you keep taking your Lipitor. (Sex is a pretty powerful negotiating tool. Use with caution.)

What does this have to do with the food? You may be wondering.

Well. Let’s imagine a world. A world in which I am hosting this little blog event called Regional Recipes. And I know you want to participate. I really do. And I’m sure every time I mention it you sit around for an hour dreaming of all the Middle Eastern recipes that you are going to submit. But then a few days pass. And you get busy. Things come up. You forget. And this will happen every week (because I am going to bring it up every week. Have. No. Fear.). Until it is February 28th. At which point you will have missed the deadline. Which will be sad. For everyone involved, but especially for you because Middle Eastern food? Is fantastic.

Here’s where the whole “negotiation” thing comes in.

Let’s make a deal.

It’s Valentine’s Day, right? Some of you may still be searching for that perfect dish to serve to that special someone.

Well, I will give you a recipe. That will knock your socks off. A recipe that seems complicated and complex and decadent. But is really pretty simple. And delicious.

But only if you promise me a submission? Sound good? And also. Please take your ACE inhibitors or beta blockers or HMG CoA reductase inhibitors or whatever other meds you’re on. Your body can thank me for it later.

Chicken With Caramelized Baby Onions and Honey (Djaj Bil Assal)

 

Print

This Middle Eastern dish of chicken with caramelized onions, baby shallots and honey is mostly savory with a hint of sweet.

Yield: 4 servings

Ingredients

• 1 lb pearl onions
• 1 onion
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• a pinch of saffron
• 1 tsp ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1½ lb chicken (I used breasts this time but would go with thighs next time)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1½ tbsp honey
• 1 bell pepper

Instructions

1. Peel the shallots.
2. Saute the chopped onion until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken 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.
3. 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, stir the onions occasionally.
4. Lift out the chicken pieces and set to one side. Stir the honey into the pan. Chec the seasoning. You need quite a bit of pepper to mitigate the sweetness. Coo, uncovered, until all the water has evaporated and the onions are brown, caramelized.
5. Return the chicken to the pan. Spoon the onions on top of them and heat through. Serve.
6. Peel the pearl onions. Chop the onion and the bell pepper.
7. Saute the chopped onion and pepper until softened in the oil over a medium heat in a pan or casserole large enough to hold the chicken 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.
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Return the chicken to the pan. Spoon the onions on top of them and heat through. Serve.

Notes

Adapted from Arabesque: A Taste of Morocco, Turkey, and Lebanon

Nutrition Information

Serving size: ¼ of recipe

3.5.3208