Chicken with Peaches, Lavender and Honey
A lovely recipe from Diana Henry "A Bird in the Hand". Delicious, sweet and summery -perfect for a lunch party when peaches are in season.
Ingredients
Method
Ingredients
- SERVES 4
- 1.8 kg Chicken, skin-on, jointed into eight, or eight good-sized skin-on, bone-in chicken thighs
- 3 tablespoon Olive Oil
- 200 ml Medium White Wine
- 3 tablespoon White balsamic vinegar
- 4 tablespoon (Lavender) Honey
- 5 Slightly under-ripe peaches
- 8 Sprigs of fresh lavender
Method
one. Preheat the oven to 190C/180C fan*/Gas 5.
two. Heat one tablespoon of the oil in a frying-pan, season the chicken pieces and, in batches, brown them on each side so they get a good colour. Put them into a broad, shallow ovenproof dish large enough to hold the chicken and peaches snugly together in a single layer.
three. Pour the oil out of the pan then return it to the heat and deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping to dislodge all the bits of flavour. Boil until it has reduced to about 100ml, than add one and a half tablespoons each of the balsamic and honey, stirring to dissolve. Pour over the chicken.
four. Halve and pit the peaches and cut each half in two. Dot these around the chicken and season. Brush each piece of peach with a little olive oil, then whisk the remaining honey and balsamic together with a fork. Drizzle over the chicken and peaches and scatter with the lavender (leave some sprigs of lavender whole, use only the flowers from others).
five. Roast for 40 minutes. The chicken should be cooked through and glazed with the honey, and the peaches should be slightly caramelised in patches. If you stick the tip of a sharp knife into the underside of a thigh, the juice that runs out should be clear.
six. Serve in the dish in which the chicken has cooked (you can transfer it all to a warmed platter if you prefer, but be careful as the peaches will be soft and could easily fall apart). Serve with olive-oil-roast potatoes and green beans.