Chicken with Prunes and Chiles
Start with a chicken, cut up and ready to sauté, and it’s easy to follow many routes to a finished dish. Here the meat is bathed in a sauce with a musky, chile-fueled bite that is made to behave by plump, sweet prunes. But the dish could also use a vehicle for its abundant, complex sauce. Mashed white or sweet potatoes, soft polenta, tender white beans or plain steamed rice would all be suitable choices.
- Total:
- Serves: 4 persons
Ingredients
- 2dried ancho chiles
- 1tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
- 1chicken, cut in 10 pieces, backbone and wingtips removed
- Salt and ground black pepper
- 1small red onion, chopped
- 2large cloves garlic, sliced thin
- 1 ½teaspoons ground cumin
- ¾cup chicken stock
- ¼cup fino sherry
- 1tablespoon red miso
- 16pitted prunes
- 2tablespoons Pedro Ximenez vinegar, or other sweet vinegar
- 1tablespoon chopped cilantro leaves
Instructions
Step 1
Place chiles in a small bowl, cover with boiling water and set aside. Heat oil in a large sauté pan. Dry chicken and dust pieces with salt and pepper. Sear on medium-high heat until browned on both sides, removing pieces to a platter when done. Reduce heat to low.Step 2
Add onion and garlic and sauté until soft. Dust with cumin, stir, and then add stock and sherry. Combine, scraping residue from the bottom of the pan, and stir in miso. Remove from heat.Step 3
Drain chiles, cut in half and remove seeds and cores. Chop chiles and add to sauce along with prunes. Stir.Step 4
Return chicken and any chicken juices to pan, basting with sauce. Cover and simmer on low 20 minutes, basting once more, until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Remove meat to a serving dish. Add vinegar to pan, bring to a simmer and stir. Add salt if needed, and a little water, if sauce has reduced too much. Spoon sauce and prunes over chicken. Scatter cilantro on top and serve.