baked cut-up chicken with fruit

Makes 4 to 5 servings

I recommend this recipe for absolute beginners. Very little cutting or fussing is required, and the fruit, onion, garlic, and chicken juices come together on their own to create a sweet, succulent dish. It takes some time to bake, so plan accordingly. But there’s no work involved during that time, except occasionally basting the chicken. Try to get an organic orange for this—a particularly good idea when a recipe includes the peel. A blood orange, which is dark sangria-red on the inside, looks especially lovely. The various dried fruits are negotiable. If you can’t find (or don’t love) any of them, you can swap in more of the ones you prefer. That said, I have to tell you that the combination as written is delicious, and worth trying once. You’ll be surprised at how everything gets transformed as it all bakes together. And if you adore fruit and want to add more, don’t hold back. You can really pack it into the pan!

One 3-to 4-pound cut-up chicken

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon mild paprika

1 medium red or yellow onion

8 to 10 good-sized cloves garlic, peeled (left whole)

Approximately 20 of each:

• -Dried apricots
• -Pitted dried plums (prunes)
• -Dried figs (stems trimmed off and discarded)

1 blood orange or navel orange

1. Adjust the oven rack to the center position and preheat the oven to 375°F.

2. Rinse the chicken pieces under cold running water, then pat dry with paper towels. If there is any extraneous fat here or there, you can trim it off with scissors and throw it away. Arrange the chicken pieces, skin side up, in a 9-by 13-inch baking pan.

3. Combine the salt, pepper, and paprika in a small bowl, and then sprinkle this mixture over the chicken. Use your fingers to rub it into the skin on as much surface area as possible.

4. Cut the ends off the onion, peel it, and cut it in half lengthwise (from root end to stem end). Lay each half, cut side down, on a cutting board, and cut it lengthwise into ¼-inch-thick slices. Scatter the onion and the garlic cloves over the chicken, and then scatter the dried fruit over the chicken, packing it into the spaces between the pieces and letting some of it land on top.

5. Leaving the peel on, cut the orange in half lengthwise (from top to bottom). Lay each half on the cutting board and cut it crosswise into ¼-inch-thick half-moons. Scatter the orange slices over the chicken, and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake, undisturbed, for 1 hour.

6. Remove the pan from the oven, and very carefully lift the foil (the accumulated steam can be hot enough to burn you). Flip the chicken pieces over, using tongs or a fork. Using a mitt or a pot holder, tilt the pan slightly with one hand, and using a baster or a large spoon, baste the juices over both chicken and fruit with the other hand. This distributes and mingles the flavors as well as the moisture, yielding delicious results. If any of the fruit looks dry at this point, or at subsequent bastings, just push it down into the juices.

7. Cover the pan tightly with the foil again, and return it to the oven for another 20 minutes of undisturbed baking.

8. Repeat the basting procedure, and then flip the chicken pieces back to skin-side-up position. Return the pan to the oven (without covering it this time) and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the chicken is golden on top.

9. Remove the pan from the oven, baste the chicken and fruit a few more times, and then tent it loosely with foil. Let it rest for about 10 minutes.

10. Serve hot or warm, being sure to include a generous portion of fruit with each serving.

A CUT-UP CHICKEN

Buying chicken already cut into individual pieces saves time and makes cooking easier. Look for cut-up chickens in the poultry case of the supermarket, or better yet, go to a butcher shop or a market with working butchers, where you can buy a whole chicken and get it cut up to order. If you go this route, ask the butcher to cut each breast half into two pieces, which makes for easier serving and eating.

HOW ABOUT THOSE GIBLETS?

Whole chickens are often sold with the giblets (the liver, heart, and gizzards) and neck stuffed inside the bird in a little plastic bag. You can cook the liver in a hot skillet with a little olive oil, sprinkle it with salt and pepper, and enjoy it as a snack. As for the rest, you can make a simple broth by simmering them in a small pot in water to cover. This broth can then be combined with the pan juices after cooking to make a light sauce. Or simply toss the giblets and neck in the roasting pan and let them cook along with the chicken so they add some flavor to the pan juices. Then discard them when you collect and skim the juices.

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GET CREATIVE

• For a more exotic Middle Eastern flavor, you can add either a tablespoon of za’atar spice mix (see Chapter 5: Burgers), or 2 teaspoons ground cumin plus ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
• Serve with additional fresh orange slices, plus a few lemon wedges so you can squeeze fresh lemon juice on each portion.
• If you like things spicy, serve with a bit of harissa, a delicious Middle Eastern chili sauce sold in jars in Middle Eastern groceries and in the ethnic foods section of some supermarkets.
• This dish goes well with couscous (see Chapter 7: Sides) and Absolutely the Best Broccoli (Chapter 7: Sides). You can cook them both while the chicken is in the oven.