Middle Eastern Inspiration Chicken (with dates and zucchini)

From an old swiss magazine in the late 80s - I am entering the recipe here as is, it shows its age a little so I have made some adjustments adding more spices to make it more middle-eastern (coriander, aniseed, cinnamon, cayenne)

This is an "europeanised" tajine recipe, and it tastes great

Must make it again first, havent made it in years!

• 2 small chickens, or a pile of chicken legs
• salt, pepper
• 2 tbs butter + 3 tbs butter
• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 2 cloves garlic (or more!)
• 2 tbs tomato puree
• 1 dl red wine
• 1 dl chicken broth
• 1 dl cream
• 2 tomatoes (peeled) or 1 can of tomatoes
• 500g zucchini
• 20 dates (depending on size and taste)
• spices: salt, pepper, 2 tsp each paprika, coriander; 1 tsp each cinnamon, aniseed powder; 1 tbsp rosewater; 1/2 tsp each marjoram and thyme; cayenne to taste

Cut the chickens in 8 pieces, or the thighs in 2
Fry them quickly in the pan with the 2 tbs butter
Add the onion, crushed garlic, herbs
Let cook a little, then add the tomato paste, salt, pepper,
Add the wine and then the broth
Let simmer under lid for about 30 minutes

While this simmers, cut and peel the tomatoes (if using fresh), cut the zucchini in sticks and cut the dates in quarters (or halves, depending on size)

Fry the zucchini up in some of butter, in a sepate pan. We don't want any water and the zucchini nicely fried, golden brown.

After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the pan and turn the heat up to reduce the liquid by half.
Add the cream and the tomatoes, let cook for 2-3 minutes, then reduce the heat to simmer again and put the chicken back in. Add half the dates to give sweetness to the sauce.

Heat up the zucchini again and add the rest of the dates and the rest of the butter. Fry briefly.

Put the chicken and sauce in a serving platter, add the zucchini and dates on top.

Serve with rice.