Best Apricot Chicken Recipe

Every year about this time we are flooded with fresh apricots from our neighbor's tree. And every year I tell myself I'm going to make a chicken meal with them, however never ever get around to it. Instead, we'll make apricot jam, apricot cobbler, apricot tart, or just eat them directly. Finally this year, we've try out apricot chicken and I'm quite please with the results.

The additions of rosemary, Tabasco, and especially cinnamon actually brighten up the flavors and make the dish more fascinating than you would expect. We served it over rice, however it would be also pretty good with some egg noodles.

Apricot Chicken Recipe

If you don't have fresh apricots, you can use a combination of dried pitted apricots and apricot jam. Slice up about a lots dried apricots and include them, with a half cup of apricot jam, to the stock in step 4 (avoiding steps 1 and 5).

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds apricots, approximately sliced, pits eliminated and disposed of
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 2 Tbsp cider vinegar
• 2 pounds skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 to 2-inch pieces
• Salt
• 1 Tbsp saltless butter (can sub olive oil).
• 3 Tbsp olive oil.
• 1 sliced onion.
• 2 cups chicken stock or broth (usage gluten-free stock if you are cooking gluten-free).
• 1 Tbsp sliced fresh rosemary.
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
• 2 teaspoons Tabasco or other hot sauce (you can add more if you like).
• Black pepper.

Method.

Place the chopped apricots in a big bowl. Stir in the sugar and the vinegar. Let sit while you brown the chicken in the next action.

In a large sauté pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat. Operating in batches, place chicken pieces in the pan, without crowding the pan, and brown them on each side. As the chicken cooks, spray salt over it. As soon as the chicken is browned, get rid of the pieces from the pan to a bowl and set aside.

Add the staying oil to the pan and sauté the onion till it begins to brown. As the onion cooks and releases wetness, use a flat edged spatula or wooden spoon to scrape off the browned bits from the chicken (called fond) from the bottom of the pan.

Once the onions have browned a bit, add the chicken stock and lower the heat to medium.

Put about 2/3 of the apricots, in addition to any juice they have actually given up, into a blender and mix into a purée. Put the purée into the pan with the chicken stock and onions.

Add the cinnamon, rosemary and Tabasco and taste. You might have to include some salt. Give a simmer, then lower the heat and gently simmer for 10-20 minutes.

When you prepare to serve, put the chicken and the staying apricot pieces into the pan and simmer carefully for 5 minutes. Serve hot with rice.

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