Chicken Breast with Dried Apricots & Cranberries
Submitted by joebeer
Chicken breasts braised in white wine with plumped apricots, dried cranberries, and warm North African spices like cumin, coriander, and cinnamon. Elegant enough for company, easy enough for Tuesday.
YIELD
4 servingsPREP
25 minCOOK
60 minREADY
90 minSomewhere between a French braise and a Moroccan tagine, this chicken dish hits a sweet spot that’s hard to resist.
Dried apricots get plumped in hot white wine, then everything goes into a casserole with chicken breasts, red onion, cranberries, and a spice blend of coriander, cumin, paprika, and a whisper of cinnamon.
The oven does the rest, braising it all together until the chicken is fall-apart tender and the fruit has melted into a glossy, wine-soaked sauce.
It looks fancy enough to serve at a dinner party, but the hands-on time is barely 25 minutes.
Kitchen Tips
- Soak the apricots in the warm wine for the full 10 minutes. They’ll plump up and release their sweetness into the braising liquid.
- Use skin-on chicken breasts for richer flavor. The skin renders beautifully during the long bake and adds body to the sauce.
- Serve over couscous or basmati rice to catch every drop of that spiced wine and fruit pan sauce.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 375℉ (190℃).
In a saucepan heat wine just to boiling.
Remove from heat, add apricots, and soak for 10 minutes.
Drain, reserving wine and apricots separately.
In a large, heavy casserole arrange chicken pieces, skin-side up and sprinkle with onion, spices, salt, pepper, plumped apricots and cranberries.
Combine reserved wine and stock and pour over all.
Cover casserole tightly and bake until chicken is very tender, 50 to 60 minutes.
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