Bon Appétit (February 2008)
Maybe this isn't something you hear every day, but we love prunes. We keep them in the pantry at all times and I almost always have a container of them in my desk at work. They're amazingly good for you and make a fantastic snack.
So when we saw the recipe for chicken in a shallot, prune and Armagnac sauce, it was a no brainer that we would be making it.
The recipe calls for a 4-pound cut-up free-range chicken. We had a chicken on hand, but had never before cut one up prior to cooking it. A quick consultation with Mr. Bittman provided a diagram and easy instructions, and after a considerable amount of hacking, we had a cut-up chicken, albeit with some stray pieces of bone here and there.
Other than cutting up a chicken, the most difficult thing about this recipe, surprisingly, was peeling 12 shallots, which was tedious and time consuming (perhaps we just have short attention spans and bore easily).
Generally, though, this is a quick meal to cook. And the resulting sauce is amazing and could be easily adapted for use on pork or in other dishes.
We would make this dish again in a heartbeat. Get on the prune train and give it a try.
Chicken with Shallots, Prunes, and Armagnac
Bon Appétit (February 2008)
Prep: 35 minutes; Total: 55 minutes; Servings: Makes 4 servings
Ingredients
1 cup large pitted prunes (about 20)
2/3 cup Armagnac or other brandy, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 4-pound cut-up free-range chicken
12 large shallots, peeled
1 1/4 cups organic chicken broth
3 large fresh thyme sprigs plus 1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
1 teaspoon Sherry wine vinegar
Photo: Bon Appetit
Preparation
Boil prunes with 1/3 cup Armagnac in small saucepan until almost all liquid is absorbed, about 3 minutes. Cover and set aside.
Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Add to skillet, skin side down; cook until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings. Add shallots; cook until browned in spots, about 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/3 cup Armagnac; boil 30 seconds, scraping up browned bits. Add broth, prunes, and thyme sprigs; bring to boil. Add chicken in single layer, skin side up, and any accumulated juices. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 17 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate.
Stir vinegar into sauce; simmer until thickened, 3 minutes. Remove thyme sprigs. Season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle with chopped thyme.
