chickinthekitchen.com

Chicken and Figs

May 16, 2009

Our TiVo occasionally picks up old PBS episodes of Daisy Martinez’s show Daisy Cooks! We always enjoy it, even if we wouldn’t eat what she’s cooking. I think that’s the mark of a good cooking show! Daisy’s on the Food Network now, with Viva Daisy! which I haven’t see yet. A few years ago I made her Chicken with Figs after seeing it on Daisy Cooks! Her recipe is not online, but there are discussions about it on Chowhound and a similar recipe at We Are Never Full. Oh, it was so delicious — as good as I’d imagined while watching her prepare it on TV. My mom and I loved it, but it was labor-intensive and I never wound up making it again.

This is not Daisy’s recipe. Instead, it’s based on Rachael Ray’s Montalcino Chicken with Figs and Buttered Gnocchi. In both Daisy and Rachael’s recipes, I just left out the pancetta; I also swapped bow tie pasta for the gnocchi this time since the boys wouldn’t eat the latter.

This version of Chicken and Figs is much easier to prepare, and it’s delicious if not beautiful — the red wine colors the whole dish so that it almost winds up looking like a beef stew, and the figs and chicken are indistinguishable from each other. Served with roasted asparagus (with lemon wedges and garlic) and pasta, it was definitely a meal I’d make again. I was thrilled that my Aunt Barbara, who was visiting, loved it as much as my mom and I did!

The only dried figs on offer in my supermarket were Sun Maid Calimyrna Figs. A textural note: the figs release their tiny seeds as they cook, and so the finished dish seems a little grainy. This didn’t bother me at all, but I was aware of the texture more than I normally am. You can look for “figlets” in your store, which you wouldn’t have to chop and would cut down on those seeds.

Chicken and Figs
Adapted from Rachael Ray’s Montalcino Chicken with Figs and Buttered Gnocchi

You can use any type of dried fig — you’ll need about 2 cups, either quartered or halved so the pieces are similar in size to the prepared chicken.

1/4 c. all-purpose flour
ground pepper
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1½ lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1- to 2-inch chunks
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 tsp. crushed garlic (or 2 cloves, minced)
2 c. dried figs, stems removed and halved
1 c. dry red wine (I used Chianti)
1½ c. vegetable broth
3/4 c. flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped (about 1 small bunch)
zest of 1 lemon
1 tsp. ground thyme

Combine flour and pepper in a small bowl and set aside (if you salt your chicken, you can add some to the flour now, too.)

In a large skillet, heat the olive. Sprinkle chicken with the flour mixture and toss lightly until all the pieces are dusted. Put the chicken into the hot oil and cook over medium-high heat until it is golden brown (it does not need to be cooked through). Move the chicken over to the side of the pan, and add the onion, garlic, and figs to the empty spot. Saute for 5 minutes, until onions soften. Mix the chicken into the onions and figs, and then add your wine to the pan. Simmer uncovered for another 5 minutes.

Add veggie broth, parsley, lemon zest, and thyme, and mix well. Bring the liquid back up to a simmer for 10 minutes, and adjust salt and pepper if necessary. Serve over pasta or rice.

 Print this post

Filed under: Poultry

Tags: Aunt Barbara, cooking, Daisy Cooks, Daisy Martinez, Food Network, PBS, Rachael Ray, recipe, Sun Maid Calimyrna Figs, TV, Viva Daisy, whole