Chicken And Dried Figs Food

ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FIGS AND ROSEMARY

Steps:

• In a large bowl, toss chicken with salt, rosemary, garlic, citrus zest and pepper. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to overnight (the longer the better).
• Heat oven to 450 degrees. Spread chicken pieces out on two rimmed baking sheets, making sure there is plenty of room between the pieces. Arrange figs among the chicken pieces, then scatter jalapeño slices on top. Drizzle everything generously with olive oil.
• Roast, switching the position of the baking pans after 15 minutes so everything browns evenly, until the chicken is golden and cooked through. This should take about 25 to 30 minutes for the breast meat, and 30 to 40 for the dark meat. Serve chicken with the orange or lemon wedges for squeezing, if you like.

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH PEARS AND DRIED FIGS

Steps:

• *NOTE: If using feta, it is high in sodium, so you may want to adjust the amount of salt indicated in the recipe. Also, the directions did not say to peel the pears, but I did anyway.
• In a small bowl, mix together the cheese, fresh herb and garlic. Place 2 rounded tablespoons of the mixture onto the center of each pear half.
• In a blender or food processor, puree the chicken broth, figs, balsamic vinegar and sugar until smooth. (You may have to do this in batches.).
• Pour the chicken broth mixture into a strainer over a bowl. Using a spatula, press the liquid through the strainer into the bowl. Discard the solids.
• Pour HALF of the fig sauce into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Place the chicken breasts over the sauce in the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Now take a filled pear half and place cut side down (that means the filled half is placed cut side down) over each chicken breast. Drizzle with the remaining fig sauce.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Cover baking dish with foil and bake in oven for 20 minutes.
• Remove the foil and continue baking, basting the chicken occasionally, for approximately 30-40 minutes or until the internal temperature of the chicken reaches 160 degrees.
• Cut chicken breast and pear in half to serve. Spoon fig sauce over pear. Garnish with cut up figs and sprigs of herbs.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH CILANTRO, LEMON AND DRIED FIGS

Steps:

• Place flour in large resealable plastic bag. Season flour with salt and pepper. Add chicken to bag; seal bag. Shake bag to coat chicken lightly with flour.
• Heat 2 teaspoons oil in large nonstick pot over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add chicken and sauté until brown on all sides, about 7 minutes per batch. Transfer chicken to plate. Add remaining 2 teaspoons oil to pot and reduce heat to medium. Add onions and garlic and sauté until golden and tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in broth, 1/2 cup cilantro and lemon juice and bring to boil. Add figs and chicken with any accumulated juices to pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 35 minutes.
• Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Boil juices in pot until thickened to sauce consistency, about 5 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons cilantro over and serve with lemon wedges.