It is still technically winter in Northern California, although the almond blossoms have arrived – just in time for St. Valentine’s Day. And winter is the time for chestnuts and braised dishes, so I thought I’d make a Tunisian-inspired tagine of mallard legs with chestnuts and chickpeas before the almond blossoms fade and spring arrives in earnest.

This dish is reasonably easy to do – if you have pre-done chestnuts. I love chestnuts, but detest peeling them. I always ended up with the nasty inner skin jammed underneath my fingernails and a whole lot of heartache as I grimly skinned one, then another, then another in a sort of Bataan Death March of nut-hulling.

Then I realized all I needed to do was chop off the “eye” of the nut with a paring knife down to the creamy inner center, then steam them for 5 minutes and peel at once. Voila! Easy-peasy! The result is above. Once I learned this I bought more chestnuts. Thanks to my vacuum sealer, these will keep for months in the freezer.

The braise itself is nothing more than seared duck legs and wings (I had collected a bunch boning out the mallards for last weekend’s Mallard Tasting), resting on a bed of slivered onions, swimming in a pool of red wine, tomato paste, North African spices and duck broth alongside some cooked chickpeas and the chestnuts.

Top all this off with a little rose water at the end and serve with either zatar flatbreads or just a crusty loaf and you are good to go. Simple, deep, delicious.

Here is the recipe.