Chicken And Dried Figs Recipes

FRESH FIGS AND CHICKEN THIGHS IN SHALLOT-BALSAMIC REDUCTION

Steps:

• Pat chicken thighs dry and season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add chicken thighs and cook, 3 to 4 minutes on each side. Add figs, chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, and shallot. Bring contents to a boil, cover, reduce heat, and let simmer until chicken thighs are no longer pink in the centers and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the centers reads at least 165 degrees F (74 degrees C), about 8 minutes. Transfer thighs to a serving plate and keep warm.
• Remove figs from the skillet using a slotted spoon and place them around the chicken on the plate.
• Add minced rosemary to the skillet contents, increase heat to medium-high, and allow contents to come to a full boil to create a the reduction. Continue to boil, stirring often, until liquid reduces to approximately 1 cup, 8 to 10 minutes. Drizzle balsamic reduction over chicken and figs and garnish with rosemary sprigs. Serve warm.

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FIGS AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss chicken with salt, rosemary, garlic, citrus zest and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight (the longer the better).
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread chicken pieces out on two rimmed baking sheets, making sure there is plenty of room between the pieces. Arrange figs among the chicken pieces, then scatter jalapeño slices on top. Drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
• Roast, switching the position of the baking pans after 15 minutes so everything browns evenly, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes for the breast meat, and 30 to 40 for the dark meat. Serve chicken with the orange or lemon wedges for squeezing, if you like.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CILANTRO, LEMON AND DRIED FIGS

Steps:

• Place flour in large resealable plastic bag. Season flour with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bag; seal bag. Shake bag to coat chicken lightly with flour.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken and sauté until brown on all sides, about 7 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to plate. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pot and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic and sauté until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in broth, 1/2 cup cilantro and lemon juice and bring to boil. Add figs and chicken with any accumulated juices to pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 35 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Boil juices in pot until thickened to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro over and serve with lemon wedges.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH FIGS

Steps:

• Separate legs and thighs if not already done. Pat chicken pieces very dry. Season with salt and pepper. Cut top half-inch off onions. Peel onions, and quarter them vertically, cutting only a bit off the root end so each quarter stays intact.
• Heat oven to 375 degrees. Heat butter in a heavy ovenproof skillet, preferably one large enough to hold chicken in a single layer. Over medium-high heat, brown chicken well on both sides. If skillet is not large enough to hold all the chicken, brown it in stages, and transfer it to a roasting pan that will hold it all.
• Tuck onion quarters, thyme and bay leaves around chicken. Add white wine and enough chicken stock so liquid is about 1/2-inch deep in pan. Place chicken in oven, and cook until chicken is done, about 40 minutes.
• Remove from oven to stove. Place figs around the chicken. Place pan over medium-high heat, bring contents to a simmer, and cook a few minutes until sauce starts to get syrupy. Warm honey and vinegar in a small saucepan, and drizzle over chicken. Turning chicken in pan, cook a few minutes more, basting with pan juices.
• Remove bay leaves, check seasonings, and serve, dividing the ingredients so each plate gets a chicken leg and thigh, and 4 pieces each of fig and onion.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH PEARS AND DRIED FIGS

Steps:

• *NOTE: If using feta, it is high in sodium, so you may want to adjust the amount of salt indicated in the recipe. Also, the directions did not say to peel the pears, but I did anyway.
• In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, fresh herb and garlic. Place 2 rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the center of each pear half.
• In a blender or food processor, puree the chicken broth, figs, balsamic vinegar and sugar until smooth. (You may have to do this in batches.).
• Pour the chicken broth mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Using a spatula, press the liquid through the strainer into the bowl. Discard the solids.
• Pour HALF of the fig sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Place the chicken breasts over the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Now take a filled pear half and place cut side down (that means the filled half is placed cut side down) over each chicken breast. Drizzle with the remaining fig sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove the foil and continue baking, basting the chicken occasionally, for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.
• Cut chicken breast and pear in half to serve. Spoon fig sauce over pear. Garnish with cut up figs and sprigs of herbs.

CHICKEN WITH ONIONS AND FIGS

Steps:

• In a large skillet, saute onions in butter until tender. Add the figs, honey, lemon juice, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring occasionally., Place chicken in two greased 13x9-in. baking dishes. Spoon onion mixture over chicken. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a thermometer reads 180°. Serve with pan juices.