Balsamic Roasted Chicken with Olives, Rosemary and Capers

This is an excellent fall and winter dish. The capers and olives blend with the tomatoes and balsamic to create a intense flavor.

I’m not that a big a fan of balsamic vinegar (unlike hubby) and even I loved this. The original recipe came from a magazine.  Hubby and I both agree that while it was good, the olives (the original used a whole cup of black) were a little too much.  It also used bone-in chicken with the skin still on, which made it very fatty.  This version is adjusted from the original.  The next time I think I will also add some red pepper strips, cooked with the onions and garlic or more likely, soft marinated.

Ingredients

• 2 lbs of boneless chicken thighs
• 1 small yellow or white onion, diced or 3/4 cup pearl onions, quartered
• 4-5 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 8-10 button mushrooms, washed and quartered
• 4 tbsp capers
• 1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 c pitted green olives (can use black if preferred)
• 14 or 16 oz can crushed tomatoes
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 3-4 sprigs rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste – this will depend on the amount of salt in your tomatoes, capers, etc.

Directions

Season chicken with salt and pepper, and brown in butter or olive oil in a dutch oven or large oven-proof saute pan.  Remove from the pan and set aside.

Remove any excess fat, add the mushrooms, onions and garlic and brown until onions are opaque, then add the capers and balsamic.  Let it reduce by half (a couple minutes) and add in crushed tomatoes, sugar, olives, red pepper, the chicken pieces, a few springs of rosemary, and more salt and pepper if desired.

Bake uncovered at 400F for 25-30 minutes until chicken is cooked through. Remove and serve with polenta, cut into rounds and heated in a fry pan until warm and slightly brown. If there’s any sauce left, you can eat it over pasta the next day.

Cumin and Cashew Roast Chicken

This is a very easy recipe with a simple marinade.  I made it with a whole chicken that I got at my local farmer’s market from the good folks at Sugar River Farm.  It’s adapted from a recipe for a similar marinade.  The original recipe for Almond and Cumin Roast Chicken is here. I’m not that fond of almonds and think cashews have a lot more flavor so went with those.  I do love cumin, which you’ll need to!

Some advice  — Don’t space out like I did and forget to baste!

I paired with a Pallou Rice adapted from Curries Without Worries by Sudha Koul.

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken (unless you’re really adventurous and you can butterfly it.) You could also used a cut up chicken (bone in, with skin)
• 4 tbsp ground cumin (Um yes, that’s correct and yes, that will be at least half the bottle of cumin).
• 2 tablespoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup (100g) cashews
• 1 1/3 cups (300mls) plain natural or Greek yogurt
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• juice of 1 lime
• salt and pepper

Directions

Rinse and pat the chicken dry. Set aside.  In a chopper or food processor, blend all the other ingredients and process into a paste.  (If you don’t have a food processor, chop the cashews as fine as you can and put the garlic through a press – then mix like crazy)

Pour the marinade over the chicken and spread to cover all exposed parts.  Let sit in the fridge for at least 4 hours, up to overnight.

Place in a heavy oven proof pan or dutch oven and roast at 400F (200C) for 45-50 minutes, basting every 10-15 minutes. Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temp is at least 175F. Let it rest for 15-20 minutes before eating.

I paired with a Pallou Rice adapted from Curries Without Worries by Sudha Koul (don’t think it’s still in print, but you can get it used).