Chicken Tagine with Quince

From the garden

• 2 large quinces, peeled, cored and cut into thick wedges
• 2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro, chopped

From the pantry

• 2 lb boneless chicken thighs, cut into large pieces
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tbsp fresh ginger, minced
• 2 tbsp honey · the quince brings its own perfume, so go light
• 2 cups chicken stock
• 1 lemon · half for the cutting water, half squeezed in at the end
• salt · to taste
• black pepper

1. Set each quince on a stable board and cut the cheeks away from the core with a heavy knife, since trying to halve a rock-hard fruit straight through the middle is how the blade slips. Peel the cheeks, trim out every scrap of the woody core, and drop the wedges into a bowl of water with half a lemon squeezed into it so the cut flesh does not brown. Throw the cores and pips away whole, because quince seeds are cyanogenic and must never be crushed, ground or simmered into the pot.
2. Pat the chicken dry, season it well, and brown it in the olive oil in a heavy pot or tagine over medium-high heat, working in two batches so the pieces get color rather than steam. Lift the chicken onto a plate.
3. Lower the heat to medium, add the onions to the fat left behind with a pinch of salt, and cook 8–10 minutes until soft and golden. Stir in the garlic, ginger and cinnamon for a minute, until the pot smells of spice.
4. Return the chicken, add the drained quince, the honey and the stock, and bring it to a bare simmer. Cover and cook gently 60 minutes, turning the fruit once or twice, until the quince gives to a knife with no resistance and has flushed from white to rose and amber. Resist cutting this short, because a quick simmer leaves quince gritty and pale.
5. Uncover, raise the heat, and reduce the liquid 8–10 minutes to a glossy sauce that coats the fruit.
6. Squeeze in the remaining lemon half, scatter the cilantro over, and season with salt and pepper before serving with bread or rice.