Last week I had my Aunt, Uncle and second cousins visit from the UK. As I haven't seen them in 13 years, I wanted to create a meal that I didn't need to tend to, so that I could have a proper visit with them...this meal definitely fits the bill! It's full of flavour, economical for larger groups, and so easy to prepare you'll undoubtedly add it to your weekly repetoire!!
CHICKEN WITH APRICOTS, OLIVES AND CAPERS
Ingredients:
3 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1/4 cup minced garlic
1/4 cup chicken broth (homemade is best, but low sodium is fine too)
1 tbsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olives
2 tbsp capers with some of the brine they're packed in
3 bay leaves
3 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup dried apricots
- In a large freezer bag, combine the first 9 ingredients. Ensure all ingredients are well combined and the chicken fully coated in the marinade. Seal and refrigerate for at least 8 hours.
- Heat oven to 350F and arrange all ingredients from freezer bag into a shallow baking dish. Sprinkle with the brown sugar and pour wine around chicken pieces.
- Bake uncovered for one hour, basting often to ensure chicken doesn't dry out.
- After cooking, remove bay leaves and serve!
In order to allow your family or guests to decide how much they want, I like to remove the chicken breasts from the cooking liquid, slice into 1/4" thick slices and then plate with the olives and apricots and a some of the liquid drizzled over top!
Also, I serve this dish with either my couscous recipe (June 2009 ) or the Greek lemon roasted potatoes ( May 2009) as both are fantastic side dishes to this meal and equally as easy to prepare!