Chicken tagine with celery and almonds

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 4 large chicken thighs
• 4 tbsp oil
• 3 large onions
• 2 thick garlic cloves
• 1 large piece(s) of ginger
• 2 small sticks of celery
• ½ tsp pepper
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ras el Hanout
• ½ tsp, heaped paprika powder
• some saffron threads
• 2 cardamom seeds
• ½ bunch parsley
• ½ bunch coriander
• ½ liter of water
• 1 handful of almonds, whole
• e.g. French fries

Instructions

Working time approx. 30 minutes; Rest time approx. 1 hour; Cooking/baking time approx. 1 hour; Total time approx. 2 hours 30 minutes

Moroccan/Oriental

Wash the chicken thighs and remove the skin, then dry them thoroughly with kitchen paper. Mix the oil with all the spices and rub the chicken thighs with it. Let them marinate for at least 1 hour. Brown the thighs well in a wide pot, add the celery and some of the herbs, fill with water, and simmer for at least 1 hour (depending on the type of pot). In the meantime, pour hot water over the almonds; the skin will peel off quickly after just 5 minutes. To do this, simply let the almonds slip out between your thumb and forefinger. Then fry the almonds in a little oil until golden brown. Fry the fries in time, adding just a little salt if necessary. (I use an air fryer.) Shortly before the end of the cooking time, add the remaining herbs to the tagine and season to taste. Serve everything together in a tagine or a large plate with plenty of sauce, add the fries, and top with the almonds. This is usually served with freshly baked flatbread, or in a pinch, a ready-made, warm baguette will do. You can, of course, also serve it with couscous instead of fries.