Sweet Apricot Chicken Tzimmis

I love this recipe because the marinade takes 2 minutes to throw together, and then you can prepare it the night before, and just throw the chicken in 1/2 hour before the guests come over, and by the time you are done with soup and salad, it’s ready! You also have an instant side dish – less work for you. It is a simple yet elegant dish for company any night of the week.

I personally prep this a week before, freeze it uncooked in a disposable aluminum pan (or two of them) and pop it from the freezer to the oven an hour before everyone comes over to finish it off (great for Yom Tov). I only do “Option #2” if I cook it fully in advance, and then I freeze it with the sauce already finished and just reheat it. Who wants to be in the kitchen blending while everyone else is eating? If you want to try something different for Shabbat (middle of winter when everyone is sick of cholent), try doing this in the crock pot (you may have to cut the recipe in half to fit it in a 6qt crock pot). Enjoy! Email or post comments if you try it; I’d love to hear how it comes out!

Sweet Apricot Chicken Tzimmis

Serves: 12-14, or 16 with lots of side dishes
Ingredients:

2 chickens cut up into 16 pieces (ok to remove skin if you want, just shorten cooking time somewhat)
2 heads of garlic, cloves separated & peeled
2 tbsp. Herbs de Provence
salt & pepper to taste
½ cup of cider vinegar
½ cup of olive oil
2/3 cup orange blossom honey
2-4 cups dried apricots (more/less is your taste)
1½ cups white wine
1½ cups chicken stock
4-6 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2” pieces or eights
2 bags of baby carrots
½ cup light brown sugar, divided into 2 ¼ cups

In a large bowl or jumbo Ziploc bag mix HdP, salt, pepper, vinegar, olive oil, 1/4 cup brown sugar, honey, apricots and the whole, peeled garlic cloves. Whisk to combine. Add chicken pieces, mix well to cover w/marinade. Marinate, covered & refrigerated, overnight. If you do not have time or don’t want to marinate over night, skip to next step. Preheat oven to 375° (or 350° if your oven runs hot). Pour wine & stock over chicken. Mix everything very well. Spray large roasting pan w/non-stick spray, or coat with a bit of olive oil to prevent sticking. Layer bottom of pan with sweet potatoes and baby carrots. Layer pieces of chicken on top of potatoes & carrots. Pour marinade (including apricots & garlic) over everything in pan; make sure some of the apricots are mixed in and not directly on top or they will burn. Sprinkle remaining 1/4 C brown sugar evenly over chicken & the apricots that are on top. Cover with foil and bake in the middle of the oven for 35 minutes. Uncover, and bake another 25-35 minutes or until chicken skin is crispy and vegetables are done. Watch that the apricots don’t burn too badly. The ones on top will brown, however. They are yummy that way :-)

Option #1: place chicken on a platter, and vegetables in a separate serving dish/bowl. Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from sauce and serve in a small dish separately as a spread for the challah at the beginning of the meal (yum!). Pour sauce & apricots over chicken and serve! You may reduce the sauce in a small pot on the stove if it is not thick enough.

Option #2: place chicken on a platter, and vegetables in a separate serving dish/bowl. Remove the now roasted garlic cloves from sauce, and put aside. Take ½ of the sauce & apricots and puree in a blender until smooth (add more sauce from pan if necessary to get the desired consistency). Combine with remaining sauce and apricots, add garlic cloves back in (or you can use these as in option #1, with the challah), pour over chicken and serve!

Option #3: do whatever the heck you want :-)