Apricot Chicken

Serves	4
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	20 minutes
Total time	30 minutes
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party
Region	American
By author	Karen S Burns-Booth

This fabulous chicken dish is so easy to make and yet it looks very sophisticated! It's on the table in under half an hour and is packed with fibre as well as being low fat for a healthy midweek family supper. I like to serve it with oven baked sweet potato chips/ fries, but any seasonal veggies work with it.

Ingredients

2 onions, peeled and sliced
a little olive oil (about 2 teaspoons)
4 x 150g chicken breast fillets, skinned and boneless (cut into chunks)
250mls chicken or vegetable stock
8 to 12 fresh apricots, cut in half and stone removed (depending on size; use tinned apricots when fresh apricots are not in season)
1 tablespoon apricot jam
freshly ground black pepper
finely chopped fresh parsley

Note

Directions

Step 1	Sauté the chopped onions in olive oil, in a large skillet, over a medium heat until soft but not coloured, for about 5 minutes.
Step 2	Add the chicken pieces and brown them on all sides, until they are browned, this will take about 4 to 5 minutes.
Step 3	Pour the stock into the pan and turn the heat up, then de-glaze the pan, scraping all the caramelised juices into the stock.
Step 4	Blend half of the apricots to a purée, in a food processor or with a hand held blender and add them to the pan; mix the purée into the chicken mixture and simmer for about 3 to 5 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
Step 5	Add the apricot jam, season with black pepper and add the remaining halved apricots, allowing them to soften in the hot sauce for a minute or two.
Step 6	Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the top and serve from the skillet or the pan with oven fried sweet potato chips or seasonal vegetables of your choice.
Step 7	NB: If you want the apricot halves to be cooked through before adding them at the end, I often fry them in a heavy griddle pan for a couple of minutes before adding them.