17th Century English Roast Chicken With Sherry Apricots And Prunes Recipes

ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F.
• To prepare the chicken, lift the skin gently with a knife and insert some small pieces of butter and slices of lemon under the breast.
• Make a ball of the stuffing and place in the cavity. Tie the chicken together with a string. Lay 6 pieces of streaky smoked bacon over the chicken. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper. Rub salt and butter into the skin. Heat oil in roasting pan and put the chicken and the onion into it. Cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes. Baste the chicken thoroughly every 20 minutes. After 1 hour and 10 minutes remove the crispy bacon slices and place them on a dish for serving. Return the chicken to the oven for another 20 minutes.
• While the Chicken is cooking, start the gravy:
• To make stock, combine the giblets with a bay leaf and an onion in a saucepan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Add carrot and peppercorns. When the chicken is cooked, transfer it to a plate and keep warm. Put the roasting tin on heat and drain off fat with a spoon. Add 2 tablespoons of flour to the juice. Keep stirring. When the juice is brown add the stock. Sieve the gravy to remove any lumps. Add a splash of white wine if desired.
• In a medium saucepan melt the butter and sweat the onions until translucent. Combine the chopped herbs, breadcrumbs, beaten egg, lemon juice and zest in a medium-mixing bowl. Add onions and mix thoroughly.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Parboil the potatoes. Coat them in flour. Put in a roasting tin with very hot sunflower oil. Roast for 30 minutes.

CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS

Steps:

• Combine apricots in a bowl with vinegar, wine and 1/4 cup water. Let soak while you brown the chicken.
• Turn the heat to medium high under a 12-inch nonstick skillet, and add chicken pieces, skin side down. Cook, rotating but not turning pieces so they brown evenly. When they are nicely browned - take your time - turn them so they are skin side up. Make a little space to add the onion, and cook, stirring the onion occasionally until it has softened a bit, a minute or two.
• Add apricot mixture and bring to a boil; cook for a minute, then turn heat to low and cover. Cook until chicken is done, 15 to 20 minutes. Uncover, raise heat and season chicken well with salt and pepper. Boil away any excess liquid; sauce should not be too watery. Serve with white rice or any other cooked grain, or bread.

"TZIMMES" CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS, PRUNES, AND CARROTS

Steps:

• Arrange racks in top and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 400°F. Season chicken pieces with 2 tsp. salt.
• Whisk honey, oil, lemon juice, pepper, cinnamon, cumin, cayenne, and remaining 2 tsp. salt in a large bowl. Add chicken pieces, carrots, onion, garlic, apricots, prunes, and thyme and toss to combine. Divide everything but chicken between 2 rimmed baking sheets. Stir wine and 1/2 cup water in a 2-cup measuring cup, then pour half over each sheet.
• Cover sheets tightly with foil. Roast 15 minutes, then remove from oven. Remove foil, divide chicken between sheets, and continue to roast, rotating sheets top to bottom halfway through, until carrots are fork-tender, chicken is golden brown, and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of a breast registers 165°F, 30-35 minutes (if some pieces of chicken are finished before others, transfer them to a serving platter).
• Transfer chicken mixture to serving platter. Pour pan juices over. Top with carrot greens or parsley before serving.

CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS AND PRUNES

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat.
• Add the chicken and cook, turning, until golden-brown on all sides.
• Add the onion, ginger root, cinnamon, chicken broth or water, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Baste often.
• If needed, add a little more broth or water. Add the apricots and prunes. Cover and simmer 15 minutes longer, or until cooked.
• Adjust seasoning. Serve garnished with pine nuts.

17TH CENTURY ENGLISH ROAST CHICKEN WITH SHERRY, APRICOTS AND PRUNES

Steps:

• A few hours before (or the night before) put the prunes and apricot slices in a small sealable container and pour ½ cup sherry over them. Seal and tilt to moisten all the fruit. Marinate until roasting time. Rinse and dry fryers with paper towels. Season insides of fryers with salt, pepper and ginger (1/2 teaspoon ginger in each). Drain the fruit but keep any drained-off sherry. Place 10 prunes, followed by 1 tablespoon pat of butter in each chicken, then 10 dried apricot halves in each. Close cavity and tie down drumsticks. Place fryers in a roasting pan just large enough to hold them. Rub butter over breasts and drumsticks; sprinkle fryers lightly with salt and pepper. Peel and quarter the onion and place around fryers in the roasting pan. Roast uncovered at 375° F. After 10 minutes pour remaining marinating sherry plus more to make ½ cup over chickens. Continue roasting, basting with pan juices every 10 minutes, adding a little chicken stock to juices, if necessary, to keep them from burning. If chickens start to brown too much before testing done, cover them with a tent of foil. When thighs test done, about 1¼ to 1½ hours, carve chickens and place on platter. Surrounded the perimeter of the platter with semi-circular orange slices, peel-on and curved sides outward. Top each slice with a prune and each prune with an apricot half from the chicken cavities. If any fruit remains, scatter over top of chicken. To the pan juices add ¾ cup sherry and bring to a rapid boil over a range burner, scraping loose the brown particles in pan. Stir constantly until syrupy. Strain through a strainer. Skim off as much fat as possible and pour some of the sauce over chicken. Pass any remaining sauce separately.

SPICY MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS AND PRUNES (LOW FAT)

Steps:

• In the morning (or the night before), combine first 13 ingredients in ungreased 2 quart shallow casserole.
• Add chicken. Turn to coat. Cover. Chill for at least 8 hours or overnight. Stir.
• Bake chicken, uncovered, in 400 degree F oven for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally, until chicken is no longer pink.

MOROCCAN TAGINE OF CHICKEN WITH PRUNES, APRICOTS, AND ALMONDS

Steps:

• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy frying pan with a cover. Add the onions, and sauté slowly until golden. While the onions are cooking, season the chicken pieces well with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with cinnamon. Push aside the onions and tuck the chicken pieces into the pan. Brown them well on all sides.
• Add the prunes, raisins, and apricots to the chicken pieces, along with the saffron, cumin, and paprika, and a cup of water. Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, for about 40 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked and most of the liquid has evaporated. (Add more water if necessary.)
• Just before serving, toast the almonds in the microwave for 3 minutes, and sprinkle them over the chicken. Serve with saffron rice (see page 278).

ROAST CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Slash each piece of chicken through the skin a few times, about 1 inch deep. Season with the salt and pepper and place in a large bowl or large resealable plastic bag. Whisk lemon juice, orange juice, honey, garlic, thyme, sumac and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a bowl to combine. Add lemon slices, apricots, olives and olive brine. Pour the marinade over the chicken and cover tightly or remove as much air as possible before sealing it. Set on a small sheet pan and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the bag from time to time.
• Position a rack 8 inches from the broiler heat source. Place an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat oven to 450 degrees. Toss shallots with remaining tablespoon oil and spread out on a large sheet pan, cut sides down. Place on the lower rack and cook, turning once, until starting to turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
• Remove the pan from the oven and use your hands and a slotted spoon to scoop the chicken, apricots, lemon slices and olives onto the pan, reserving the marinade. Arrange in an even layer with the chicken skin side up and return to the oven. Cook for 15 minutes, baste the chicken with the drippings, and cook until chicken juices run clear, about 10 minutes longer. Remove the pan from the oven. Heat the broiler to high.
• Pour the reserved marinade and wine over the chicken, and broil until the chicken is browned and the liquid is thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. If the apricots start to get too dark, turn them over in the sauce. Transfer to a platter. If you used chicken breasts, cut them in half. Pour the sauce over everything or serve it on the side.

MEDITERRANEAN CHICKEN WITH DRIED APRICOTS & PRUNES

Steps:

• Combine all above ingredients (****EXCEPT brown sugar & white wine) into marinade. Place chicken in a zip lock bag or a baking dish that can be tightly sealed. Cover the chicken with marinade. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or overnight if possible.
• One hour before baking: Time to arrange in the baking dish and bring to room temperature before cooking.
• Distribute chicken in single layer in baking pan, DO NOT discard the marinade. Pour it over the chicken with all the other marinade ingredients. Sprinkle brown sugar over the chicken breasts and pour white wine around the breasts.
• Preheat oven: Cook UNCOVERED at 325 for 50 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink. Cooking time may vary depending on the thickness of your chicken breasts. Cook to 165°F
• Arrange cooked chicken breasts on a platter, top with the sauce and other ingredients.
• NOTE:.
• This recipe yields a lot of sauce, so you can double the chicken content without having to double the marinade. It's nice because you can make it all ahead of time!