Chicken with Sweet Onions

In this Moroccan-style recipe, savory slow-cooked onions sweetened with brown sugar and cinnamon are spooned over pieces of tender oven-roasted chicken. At the table, offer lemon wedges to squeeze over the dish for a touch of tart flavor.

Recipe Ingredients:

1 (3 to 3 1/2-pound) chicken, cut-up
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste
1/2 cup butter or margarine
4 to 5 large white or yellow onions, thinly sliced and separated into rings
2 tablespoons brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Salt to taste
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
Lemon wedges for accompaniment

Cooking Directions:

1. Rinse chicken, pat dry, and sprinkle with salt, pepper and paprika. Arrange chicken pieces, skin side down, in a greased 10 x 15-inch rimmed baking pan (jelly roll pan).
2. Bake in a preheated 400°F (205°C) oven for 30 minutes. turn pieces over and continue to bake until skin is browned and meat near thighbone is no longer pink; about 15 to 20 more minutes (cut to test).
3. While chicken is baking, melt butter in a wide skillet over medium-low heat. Add onions and cook slowly until very soft and golden, about 30 to 45 minutes; stir occasionally at first, then more often as onions begin to turn golden. Onions should not show signs of browning during the first 15 minutes; if they do, reduce heat. You want to coax the onion's natural sugars to come out slowly and brown, cooking too fast will only result in burning those sugars and creating an undesirable bitter taste. Sprinkle the sugar and cinnamon over onions; stir until blended. Season to taste with salt.
4. Transfer chicken to a serving dish. Spoon onions over chicken and sprinkle with almonds. Serve with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 servings.