Chicken Thigh braised with Dried Apricots, Honey and Vinegar

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 Dried Apricots
  • 1 tbspn Water
  • 2 medium Red onions
  • 2 tspn Lemon thyme
  • 2 tspn Rosemary
  • 4 Chicken thighs
  • 1/2 tspn Sea salt
  • 1 stick Cinnamon
  • 2 tbspn Sherry Vinegar
  • 1 Lemon
  • 2 tbspn Honey
  • 1 handful Flat leaf parsley

Soft Polenta

  • 2 1/2 cup Milk
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 1 sprig Rosemary
  • 1/2 cup Polenta
  • 1/2 cup Cream
  • 50g Butter
Print Recipe

Maggie”s Tip: Choose a shallow sided pan for the oven so the mixture comes almost to the top to allow the heat to penetrate properly. An oval copper dish is perfect for this.

Reconstitute apricots in water and one tablespoon of Verjuice overnight. (Or if you don’t have time for this step, you can always use your microwave).

Preheat oven to 200°C.

Chop onion roughly then sauté with reconstituted apricots, lemon thyme and rosemary in a little Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Lay the herb and onion mixture in the base of the oven proof dish.

Add the chook pieces to the dish and top with sea salt, cinnamon, rosemary and lemon thyme. Pour over the stock, ½ cup Verjuice and vinegar and then add lemon peel.

Drizzle the chook thighs with two tablespoons of honey and roast for about 30 – 35 minutes, basting occasionally.

Remove from oven, discard the cinnamon and leave to rest for 10-15 minutes, to reduce juices before serving.

While the chook is resting make the polenta by heating the milk with the bay leaf and rosemary. When the milk is just about to boil, strain the herbs before returning the milk to the heat.

Add polenta and continuously stir, for 5 – 10 minutes until smooth. Add in cream and butter, take off the heat and stir and serve.

Drizzle a final flourish of Olive Oil over the chicken, garnish with parsley and serve with soft polenta.