Best Olive N Fig Chicken For Two Recipes

PAN-ROASTED CHICKEN WITH FIGS AND OLIVES

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 400°F (205°C) and place a large, oven-safe skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken all over with the salt and pepper. Add the oil to the skillet and swirl to coat. Once shimmering, add the chicken, skin side down and allow it to sear for 5-10 minutes, or until the skin is brown. Flip and cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side. Remove to a platter.
• To the hot pan, add the shallots and figs and sauté for 2-3 minutes, or until the shallots are golden brown. Add the olives, wine and thyme sprigs and boil for a minute or so, scraping up any browned bits that have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• Return the chicken to the pan, skin side up and place in the oven. Roast the chicken for 30 minutes, or until it reaches an internal temperature of 165°F (74°C).

CHICKEN TAGINE WITH OLIVES, FIGS, AND PRESERVED LEMONS

Steps:

• Season chicken with 1 tablespoon olive oil, salt, and pepper.
• Heat remaining oil in a tagine over medium heat. Sear chicken in the hot oil until browned, 5 to 7 minutes; remove and set aside. Add onion, coriander, cumin, and bay leaf and cook, stirring constantly, for 10 minutes. Make sure to scrape the brown bits from the bottom while stirring; add a little water if needed.
• Stir tomatoes, figs, olives, garlic, and lemons into the tagine. Cook for an additional 5 minutes. Add the seared chicken and pour in white wine. Bring to a boil while scraping the browned bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Reduce the wine by half, 10 to 15 minutes. Pour in enough chicken broth to fill the tagine only halfway up the sides of the chicken.
• Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until the meat on the legs is no longer pink and pulls away from the bone, about 45 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh, near the bone, should read 165 degrees F (74 degrees C). Remove the tagine from the heat and mix in parsley. Check seasonings and serve.

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 FETA AND FIGS

Steps:

• One at a time, place each chicken breast between pieces of plastic wrap or parchment and lightly pound with a mallet until it is 1/2 to 3/4 inch thick. Chicken breasts should be of uniform thickness.
• Place chicken breasts in a bowl, season with salt and pepper and toss with rosemary, garlic and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Cover bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
• Place oven on lowest setting, around 200 degrees. Cook the chicken: Heat a large cast-iron skillet or grill pan over high heat for 5 minutes. Add remaining olive oil to pan and reduce heat to medium-high. Turn over chicken breasts in marinade to coat them, then add them to the pan, rounded side down. Cook for 4 to 5 minutes on one side, until cooked halfway through.
• Turn chicken breasts over and carefully arrange feta on top, dividing it equally among the 4 breasts. Sprinkle about 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves over feta on each breast. Cook 4 to 5 minutes, until breasts are cooked through. Feta will warm but will not melt. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep in warm oven while you cook the figs.
• Add wine to pan and scrape with a wooden spoon to deglaze the bottom. Boil wine until it has reduced by half, then add figs, honey and remaining thyme. Cook, stirring, until figs break down and begin to look jammy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
• Serve chicken breasts with fig compote on side and garnish with rosemary sprigs.