Chicken and Fig

Wine: Little James’ Basket Press Gigondas

It was a warm night and we decided to eat outside on the deck overlooking the city. Figs are in season, so we decided to build a dinner around them. We made a great chicken dish that we really like from The Zuni Café Cookbook. It is easy and very tasty. The dish is called. Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar. The name tells the story. We served it over freshly made cous-cous.

Tomatoes are just coming into season (they are late this year) and we picked up our first box of Cherry Tomatoes. We made a great salad from The Casa Moro Cookbook: Feta Salad with Anise Bread, Tomatoes and Oregano. It is absolutely delicious.

For dessert we had Fresh Cherries from the Hollywood Farmer’s market.


Feta Salad with Anise Bread, Tomatoes and Oregano
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Casa Moro, The Second Cookbook

6 slices of Anise Bread, Crackers or Toasted Feta
Cherry Tomatoes cut into halves or quarters
½ medium red onion, finely chopped
Feta Cheese
2 tablespoons fresh or dried oregano leaves
2 handfuls oily black olives

Dressing
1 Garlic clove, crushed to a paste with salt
1 ½ tablespoons good-quality red wine vinegar
1 medium to large tomato, sliced and pureed to juice in a food processor
6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper

For the dressing, whisk the garlic, vinegar, tomato juice and olive oil together then season with salt and pepper.

Combine all ingredients and add dressing and toss. Don’t over dress the salad.


Chicken Braised with Figs, Honey & Vinegar.
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for 4 servings:

4 chicken legs (8 to 9 ounces each}
Salt
About 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
A sprig of fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
About 1 tablespoon honey
8 to 10 ripe fresh figs - Kadota, Smyrna, Excel, Adriatic, or Black Mission
About 1/2 cup Chicken stock
A few black peppercorns, barely cracked in a mortar
About 1/2 cup dry white wine
About 2 tablespoons mild-tasting olive oil
About 2 tablespoons dry white vermouth
1 medium yellow onion (about 8 ounces), root end trimmed flat, peeled, and cut into 8 wedges

Seasoning the chicken (for the best flavor and succulence, do this step 12 to 24 hours in advance).

Trim the excess fat, then season the chicken evenly all over with salt (we use a scant 3/4 teaspoon sea salt per pound of chicken). Cover loosely and refrigerate.

Cooking the chicken:

Preheat the oven to 375°.

Pat the chicken legs dry; this will make them less likely to stick. Heat a scant
2 tablespoons olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, then add the
chicken legs, skin side down. The oil should sizzle, not pop explosively, when
you add chicken. Adjusting the heat as necessary, cook until the skin is evenly
golden, about 8 minutes. Turn the legs over and color only slightly on the other
side, about 4 minutes. Pour off the fat.

If your skillet is ovenproof, arrange the onion wedges in the spaces between the chicken legs; otherwise, transfer the chicken to a shallow flameproof braising dish that will easily hold the chicken and onions in a single layer, and add the onions. Add the wine, the vermouth, and enough stock to come to a depth of about 1/2 inch. Bring to a simmer and add-the bay-leaf, thyme, and cracked black peppercorns.

Place, uncovered, in the oven, and cook until the meat is tender but not quite falling off the bone, about 40 minutes. The exposed skin will have turned golden and crispy; the liquid ought to have reduced by about half. Remove from the oven and set on a slight tilt so the fat will collect at one side of the pan.
Combine the vinegar and honey and warm slightly. Taste. The vinegar should dominate, but without making you squint. Trim the stems and cut the figs in half.

Skim as much fat as possible from the braising liquid, then set the pan over
medium heat. Bring to a boil and swirl as you reduce the liquid to a syrupy con¬sistency. Distribute the figs evenly around the pan, add about 2 tablespoons of the vinegar-honey syrup, and swirl the pan to diffuse the bubbling, amber syrup without smashing the tender fruit. The sauce will be glossy. Taste - it should be rich and vibrantly sour-sweet. Add more, or all of the syrup, to taste. The vinegar adds a bright but unstable note of acidity, which will fade with boiling, so sim¬mer for only a minute or less.

Serve each chicken leg with 2 wedges of sweet, soft onion and 4 or 5 fig halves, bathed in a few spoonfuls of the sauce.