The Best Braised Chicken With Dried Plums Recipes

THE BEST BRAISED CHICKEN WITH DRIED PLUMS

Steps:

• In a heavy pot or skillet (with a lid), heat oil over medium-high.
• Season chicken with salt & pepper. Cook in 2 batches until browned, 8-9 minutes, flipping once. Transfer to a plate.
• To pot, add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until onion begins to brown, 5-7 minutes. Reduce heat if necessary.
• Add flour, cook, stirring, 1 minute.
• Add wine and chicken along with any accumulated juices.
• Add bay leaves (if using).
• Cover and cook until chicken is opaque throughout, 8-10 minutes (or thirty if your pan sucks too!). Stir in prunes.
• If you prefer the sauce to be less watery, remove lid, and continue to cook on medium heat until the sauce reduces to the desired consistency.
• Remove bay leaves, and serve with polenta or mashed potatoes to catch the savory sauce.

MOROCCAN CHICKEN WITH SQUASH AND DRIED PLUMS

Steps:

• In a medium glass bowl, combine the spice mixture, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the lemon zest, lemon juice, and harissa. Add the chicken thighs and stir to coat. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours. Warm the chicken broth and add the saffron strands, then allow to steep at least 1 hour or up to 3 hours.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Remove the chicken thighs from the marinade. In a Dutch oven over high heat, brown the chicken thighs on both sides in 2 tablespoons olive oil, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Set chicken aside on a plate. Reduce the heat to medium, add 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan, and saute the onion until golden, about 5 minutes. Place the chicken thighs on top of the onions and add any accumulated juices from the plate. Arrange the zucchini and yellow squash and tomato quarters on top of the chicken and tuck in the prunes and olives. Season well with salt and pepper. Pour over the chicken broth and saffron. Cover and place on the bottom rack of the oven. Let cook undisturbed 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is falling off the bone. Remove from the oven and transfer the contents of the Dutch oven to a large serving dish.
• Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a small saucepan over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add the almonds and fry until the skins begin to crackle, about 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the almonds and hot oil over the vegetables and chicken on the serving dish. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve, spooning over the sauce in the dish and garnishing each plate with the lemon quarters.
• Combine the spices in a coffee grinder and grind to a medium-fine powder. Add the kosher salt and pepper. Store in an air-tight container, if not using immediately.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH DRIED PLUMS, OLIVES AND CAPERS

Steps:

• Mix 1/4 cup of the oil, vinegar, garlic, thyme, sea salt and pepper in small bowl. Place chicken in large resealable plastic bag or glass dish. Add marinade; turn to coat well
• Refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight for best flavor. Remove chicken from marinade. Discard any remaining marinade
• Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in large skillet on medium heat. Add chicken; cook 5 minutes on each side or until chicken is browned. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits in bottom of skillet. Add chicken stock, dried plums, olives, capers and bay leaves; bring to boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 30 minutes or until chicken is cooked through
• Place chicken on serving platter. Keep warm. Discard bay leaves. Simmer sauce 10 to 15 minutes or until slightly thickened. Spoon sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped parsley before serving

ALE-SIMMERED CHICKEN WITH DRIED PLUMS

Steps:

• Trim excess fat from chicken parts and cut breasts in half so that all the pieces will cook in roughly the same amount of time. Season the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Heat vegetable oil in a large, oven-proof pot (such as a Dutch oven) over medium-high heat. Brown chicken on all sides, about 5 minutes per side, then set aside on a plate and reserve. Add the onions and garlic and cook a couple minutes to sweat them down a little. Add the ale and deglaze the bottom of the pot. Add the tomato paste and canned tomatoes and stir well until tomato paste is dissolved. Add carrots, thyme, and plums. Return the chicken to the pot along with any reserved juices. Gently submerge the chicken pieces by nestling them into liquid (this will cook them evenly without drying them out).
• Return to medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and continue to simmer on low for 1 1/2 hours until chicken is cooked through and starting to fall off the bone.

BRAISED CARROTS WITH DRIED PLUMS (PRUNES)

Steps:

• Cut the prunes in half, and cut the carrots into 1/2-inch-thick slices.
• In a 3-qt. saucepan, combine all ingredients. Heat to boiling on high. Reduce heat to medium; simmer, stirring occasionally, 15-20 minutes or until liquid evaporates and carrots are glazed. Serve at once.

PAN-BRAISED CHICKEN WITH DRIED FRUITS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Sprinkle chicken on all sides with cumin, salt and pepper. Heat oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add chicken and sauté until brown, about 2 minutes per side. Push chicken to side of skillet. Add garlic to skillet and stir 30 seconds. Add dried fruits, wine, broth and olives and bring to boil. Simmer chicken uncovered until just cooked through, turning chicken occasionally with tongs, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to plates. Increase heat and boil until sauce is slightly thickened, about 4 minutes. Spoon sauce over chicken.

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 PRUNES

Steps:

• Generously season chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Spread flour in a wide, shallow bowl, and dredge chicken until it is well coated. Shake off any excess flour.
• Place a deep sauté pan (just large enough to hold the chicken pieces in a single layer) over medium-high heat for a minute or two. Add olive oil, and heat until oil shimmers. Arrange chicken pieces in pan, skin side down, and allow to sit without being moved until undersides are browned, about 3 minutes. Turn chicken, and allow to sit again until browned, 3 to 4 minutes.
• Add vinegar, wine and prunes. Cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer, basting occasionally, until chicken meat is tender and almost falling off the bone, about 30 minutes.
• Using a slotted spoon, transfer chicken pieces and prunes to a platter, and keep warm. Raise heat under the pan to high, and reduce pan juices for a minute or two. Pour juices over chicken pieces, and serve.

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.