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Casserole, Chicken & Poultry, Easy Date Night, Fruit, One-pot Recipes, Quick & Easy, Recipe, Simple Supper, Something Fancy, Speedy Dinner Parties

Cook: 30-35 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Chicken with Grapes and Shallots

I love cooking meat with fruit, especially if complimented by a sharp vinegar to cut through the sweetness of the fruit. The combination of fruit, vinegar and chicken is a delightful one in spring and summer, when creamier sauces might feel too rich. Today, I stumbled across a delicious looking bunch of grapes and this recipe was born. The result, is a delightful, jubilant, one-pot wonder of: caramelized chicken thighs and shallots in a gooey sweet grape sauce. Elegant and dinner-party worthy and yet unbelievably quick and simple.

Ingredients

Method

Ingredients

  • SERVES 4
  • 4 Skin-on Chicken Pieces (Thighs or Drumsticks)
  • 1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
  • Salt & Pepper
  • 2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 Thumb Sized Piece of Butter
  • 1 large Bunch of Seedless Grapes (Red, White or a mix of both)
  • 1.5 tablespoon Red Wine Vinegar
  • 6-8 Shallots (Peeled and Left Whole)

Method

one. Preheat the oven to 180ºc

two. Peel the shallots

three. Add the chicken pieces, shallots and butter to a baking tin. Pour over the oil; season with salt and pepper; toss over the fennel seeds and give everything a good shake to coat. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.

four. After 20-25 minutes, add the Red Wine Vinegar, stirring the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Then add the grapes and cook for a further 10minutes (or until the chicken pieces are cooked through).

Serving Suggestion. Quinoa or a Crusty Bread Kale or a Green Salad

Possible Amendment. Consider Replacing Red Wine with Sherry or Balsamic Vinegar for a sweeter taste (perhaps depending on the sweetness of your grape variety); The addition of a few sprigs of fresh thyme or even rosemary (perhaps instead of fennel seeds); Some black olives to provide an interesting salt-sweet dynamic (perhaps instead of fennel seeds), added at the same time as the grapes; Adding a few garlic cloves (left whole and lightly crushed with the back of a knife); I intend to try this with a whole roasting chicken (spatchcocked, or otherwise), with lots of garlic (perhaps a whole garlic bulb, cut in half), shallots, thyme in the pan and perhaps the addition of madeira at the end to make a gravy. (With this method, I'd go for sherry vinegar, instead of red wine).