Chicken with apricots, rosemary and green olives

Telegraph

09-10-2024

This was inspired by a dish from the old Silver Palate Cookbook, one of the classics of its time. I've added rice to make it a one-pot dish. Make sure to season well.
Ingredients
225g basmati rice
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
8 chicken thighs, or a mixture of thighs and drumsticks
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated to a purée
2cm square piece of ginger, finely grated
100ml dry vermouth or white wine
finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange
75g dried apricots (the moist type), halved
2 bay leaves
2 ½ tbsp capers, rinsed of salt or brine
6 rosemary sprigs
2 ½ tbsp white balsamic vinegar
500ml hot chicken stock
55g pitted green olives
a couple of generous squeezes of lemon (not quite the juice of ½ lemon)
15g almond flakes or pine nuts, toasted
salad leaves, to serve
Method
Step
Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Rinse 225g basmati rice in a sieve until the water runs clear, or soak it for half an hour then rinse it.
Step
Heat 1½ tbsp olive oil in a large ovenproof pan about 30cm across and 6cm deep. In batches, brown 8 chicken thighs all over – you just want to colour them (about 5-6 minutes), the chicken will cook more in the oven. Season as you go and transfer to a bowl.
Step
Carefully pour out all but 2 tbsp of the fat from the pan and cook 1 large finely chopped onion over a medium-low heat until it's soft and golden. Add 3 grated garlic cloves and 2cm finely grated ginger and cook for another 2 minutes.
Step
Deglaze the pan with 100ml dry vermouth or white wine, dislodging all the bits that have stuck to the base, then add the rice and season. Put the chicken pieces back in, skin-side up, along with any juices.
Step
Add the finely grated zest and juice of 1 orange, 75g halved and dried apricots, 2 bay leaves, 2 ½ tbsp rinsed capers, 6 rosemary sprigs and 2 ½ tbsp white balsamic. Pour in 500ml hot chicken stock and let everything come to just under the boil. Make sure that the herbs and apricots are tucked in under the chicken or they could burn. Season the skin of the chicken – a little bit will poke out – and transfer to the oven.
You don't need a lid.
Step
Cook for about 25 minutes then add 55g pitted green olives, return the pan to the oven and cook for another 5-10 minutes. The chicken should be lovely and golden and the rice should have absorbed all the stock. Taste for seasoning – the rice may need some salt or lemon (lemon is great for pulling all the flavours in a dish together; it also makes the top nice and glossy).