Apricot Chicken

Thanks to Kristin (Piedmont) for submitting this recipe. She made this for her book club, and now has a standing request for the dish at every meeting she hosts. Kristin, you’ll have to try it with peaches and let us know how it turns out!

Ingredients
8 apricots or about 2 1/2 – 3 cups sliced.
1/4 cup sugar or honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 pounds of skinless chicken breats
Salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 onion
2 cups chicken stock
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons hot sauce
Black pepper to taste

Preparation
Slice the apricots in half and remove the pit. Cut the apricots into slices and place in a large bowl. Add the sugar or honey and the vinegar and set aside.

Cut the chicken into a 2-inch dice. Over medium-high heat, warm the butter and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large skillet. Being careful not to crowd the chicken, add it to the warmed skillet and brown on all sides. You may need to work in batches, depending on your pan size. Remove the browned chicken to a different bowl, and set aside.

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the skillet and sauté the onion until it browns. Deglaze the pan by slowly adding the chicken stock, scraping up any browned bits left in the pan from the chicken. Lower the heat to medium.

Place about 2/3 cup of the sliced apricots and their juices into a blender or processor and blend into puree. Pour the mixture into the skillet and then add the cinnamon, rosemary, and hot sauce. Salt to taste. Bring everything to a simmer and then lower the heat to simmer
gently for about 10-20 minutes.

Just before serving, place the chicken and the rest of the apricots into the skillet and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately. This dish works well over rice.

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