Apricot Chicken
Apricot chicken with its sweet and savoury flavours is the perfect family friendly dinner.
Servings: 4 adults
Calories: 324kcal
Ingredients
- 10 dried apricots
- 2 Tablespoon butter or oil
- 1 onion finely diced
- 2 medium carrots diced
- 1 stalk celery diced
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 600 grams chicken boneless breast, thighs or tenderloin (diced)
- 8 fresh apricots
- 400 grams diced tomatoes canned
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon fresh thyme
- ½ cup chicken stock
Instructions
- Start by soaking the dried apricots in half a cup of boiling water.
- Heat the oil or butter in a pan. Add the diced onion, celery and carrot. Cook over a medium heat until the vegetables are softened, and have become golden brown (you want the caramelisation for the flavour).
- Add the garlic to the pan, sauté for 1-2 minutes.
- Add the diced chicken to the pan and brown
- While the chicken is browning add the soaked dried apricots, soaking water and the tinned tomatoes to a blender or food processor, whizz until smooth
- Add the apricot sauce, fresh apricots, cinnamon, and thyme to the pan
- Simmer for 15-20 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the apricot sauce has thickened. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Enjoy with steamed basmati rice and green vegetables.
Notes
- I generally cook with olive oil, for some recipes though butter brings a lovely flavour, and this is one of those recipes, I find the recipe has a better flavor when I make it with butter.
- As I said this recipe is perfect for the whole family, it can be used for baby-led-weaning or for a toddler dinner just make sure you remove their portion before you season with salt.
- Store leftovers in an air tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 4 months.
- Dried apricots: The dried apricots which I soak, could be substituted for apricot preserves or apricot jam.
- Chicken: I use boneless and skinless chicken breasts, chicken thighs or tenderloin (diced). You can use bone-in chicken pieces but the cook time will be longer
- Fresh apricots: When apricots are not in season it is fine to use canned apricots which have been drained from their canning liquid.
- Diced tomatoes: Any tinned tomatoes will work as they get blended in the sauce, so they can be whole peeled tomatoes, crushed, diced or puree.
- Chicken stock or broth: This can be substituted for a chicken or onion soup mix made up with half a cup of water.
Nutrition
Serving: 1serve | Calories: 324kcal | Carbohydrates: 26g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 94mg | Potassium: 786mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 6203IU | Vitamin C: 21mg | Calcium: 91mg | Iron: 3mg