Sweet apricots and figs bring subtle sweetness to this dish giving your chicken dinner an effortless gourmet makeover.
Figs, grapes, and wreaths of laurel took their turns being associated with Roman nobility, with each at one time being seen as a symbol of wealth, royalty, or victory. While grapes and laurel wreaths date back on the Italian peninsula to the dawn of recorded history – the origin of the fig’s presence on the peninsula is somewhat more obscure.
The fig was likely first introduced into Italy via Greek merchants and colonists, who themselves were introduced to the tiny fruit via their colonial presence in Anatolia, and through trade networks connecting the Greek mainland to the coasts of Syria and North Africa. However, there is evidence that the fig’s popularity in Italy exploded only after the Roman conquest of each of the aforementioned areas. Perhaps the fig was seen as more valuable or representative of victory following the conquests, or perhaps it was only then that it became available in large enough quantities to enter the Empire’s cultural mainstream.
Whatever the case maybe, figs are now ubiquitous in Italian cuisine, although they are somewhat more popular in the Southern half of the peninsula, and in Sicily especially.
Here in the states, today they’re widely available at almost any supermarket, however when I was growing up they one of the many reasons to visit your ‘corner fruit market,’ since they were something of a novelty that most people simply weren’t familiar with at the time.
Hard to imagine, I know.
While I can still remember my grandfather eating these in copious quantities on their own, today I decided to use them as part of the base for a sweet and savory sauce to put over breaded chicken. While I’ll be using dried figs for today’s recipe, you can easily use fresh figs if you prefer – although fresh figs will turn up the sweetness level of the sauce just a tad, as well as make it a bit ‘thinner.’ Again, however, this is a matter of pure preference.
To start things off, I began by slicing up about a cup and half of dried apricots and figs – evenly divided between both. I then heated up a large cast iron frying pan with olive oil, and threw in some halved tomatoes, a sliced onion, crushed and sliced garlic, and then the figs and apricots.
Let that sauté for about twenty minutes, tossing a few times as it simmers.
Then turn off the heat, add in chopped cilantro, scallions, and toss again. In a separate cup, combine about two ounces of honey with two ounces of balsamic vinegar, stir thoroughly, and then add that into the sauc and set it aside.
For the chicken, you’re going to want to begin with about fourteen bone-in chicken thighs – skin on or off as preferred. To start, we season about 10 ounces of all-purpose flour with salt and freshly ground black pepper, and then dredge the chicken thighs in this mixture. No egg wash required for this particular recipe. Magic.
Set them in a baking pan, drizzle with a bit of olive oil, and then bake them for about thirty-five minutes at 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Then lower the temperature to 300, remove them from the oven, and spoon the sauce evenly over the thighs, and then set them back in the oven to bake for another fifteen minutes, and they’re ready to serve.
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Fig and Apricot Chicken Thighs
- Total Time: 30 minutes
- Yield: 1 dozen chicken thighs 1x
Ingredients
For the Chicken:
- 12 - 14 bone in chicken thighs
- 1 1/2 cups flour - seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper
- Olive oil for drizzling
- Dredge the chicken thighs in the seasoned flour and place in a baking pan.
- Drizzle each thigh with olive oil
For the Fig and Apricot Sauce:
- 1 1/2 cups of mixed dried figs and dried apricots - sliced
- 5 cloves of garlic - chopped
- 1 medium sized red onion - sliced
- 2 pints of grape tomatoes - halved
- 1 fresh bunch of cilantro - stems removed and chopped
- 3 bunches of fresh scallions - chopped
- 1 tsp. of salt
- 1/2 tsp. fresh ground black pepper
- 1 tsp. dried oregano
- 1/4 cup of honey
- 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar
- 3 tbs. olive oil
Instructions
For the Chicken:
- Preheat Oven 375 degrees F.
- Bake 30 – 35 minutes.
- Lower Oven temperature to 300 degrees F.
- Remove from oven and spoon the sauce over each thigh.
- Place back in the oven for 12 – 15 minutes.
- Remove from oven and serve along with the Fig and Apricot Sauce. (See recipe below)
For the Fig and Apricot Sauce:
- Heat a large cast iron frying pan with the olive oil. Place the halved tomatoes, sliced onion, sliced figs and apricots, and garlic in the pan.
- Sauté 20 – 25 minutes tossing as it simmers gently.
- Turn heat off. Add the chopped cilantro and scallions and toss.
- Combine the honey and balsamic vinegar and stir into the sauce.
- Serve over the baked chicken thighs.
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
Enjoy with Love!
2
angiesrecipes says
What a great idea of using figs and apricots here! They look so juicy and flavourful.
mimi rippee says
I absolutely adore this recipe! I couldn't make it until a friend visited me, as my husband refuses to mix fruit with his savory. He's definitely missing out!
Catherine says
I agree. I hope you enjoy the recipe if you try it. Thank you for visiting.
DAVID J MYERS says
Catherine, Great recipe! We always use chicken thighs when we cook chicken at home because they stay moist and have more flavor than white meat. (I do like a fried chicken breast when we're eating out though) My wife and I both like moist chicken and this sweet and savory sauce over the thighs is right on target! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Sharon Perry says
Is that really 3 bunches of scallions (approx.. 20 scallions)? I really need to make this recipe, sounds amazing and I always use thighs (1 breast for my friend that doesn't like dark meat).
Living the Gourmet says
Dear Sharon, Yes, I used 3 bunches of scallions, if you prefer to you can use a little less but the measurements are correct on that. I am so happy to hear you want to make this! I know you will love it. If you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask! Enjoy!
Byron Thomas says
I have to admit, when I saw the first image in this post, I thought I was looking at a picture of fried chicken. I'm so surprised at how light and crispy that skin looks just from baking! Wow! The reason I clicked on this recipe in the first place was the fig and apricot title - I love those two things together and couldn't wait to see how you created a sauce. I'm making this for sure!
Catherine says
I hope you enjoy it Byron. Let me know how you like it. You can always adjust the ingredients to your liking. I know I enjoyed it. Thank you for visiting.
Farwin says
Wow! I love that you used figs and apricot with the chicken. It's very new to me.
April says
I was thinking of the best way to describe your recipe and whenI came up with the word I noticed that you had laready mentioned it - GOURMET! A chicken recipe can never get any more gourmet than this!
Danielle Wolter says
Love the use of the figs and apricots - such great flavors. And I am a sucker for chicken thighs 🙂
Mahy Elamin says
I made this dish for lunch, and I loved it! I LOVED the chicken thighs, and the small amount of skin that I crisped was so yummy (but not such a large piece that I felt guilty for eating the skin..lol).
Chiara says
A delicious recipe that combines fruit with meat, a warm hug
Michelle says
Love this dish! I really like using fruit in savory dishes and it's hard to find good recipes using fruit. Excited to try this one out soon!
Liz says
Yum! The fig/apricot combination sounds incredible paired with chicken!
Stacie says
That is such a great recipe. I love cooking meat with fruit, especially chicken thighs. That rich dark meat goes perfectly with the fruity flavor.
Mimi says
Now these are not two things that I would of thought paired well together but this looks delish! I love the mini history lesson on the origins figs.
Catherine says
Thank you Mimi, I hope you try the recipe and let me know if you enjoy it. xo
Brianna says
The dish looks so good!! I'm not sure my tastebuds would appreciate fig and apricot flavor on fried chicken but it's something I'm willing to try
Catherine says
Let me know if you try it and if you enjoy it. xo
Julie says
The dish looks amazing and I’m sure it tastes as good as it looks. Thanks for sharing!
Erin says
This sounds so yummy! My grandparents had a fig tree in their backyard when I was young, and I used to love picking them from the tree. I've loved them ever since!
Saima says
You've hit the nail on the head by describing this dish as gourmet. I mean, what else could chicken that's been cooked in a fig and apricot sauce be called? I'm salivating at the mere mention of it!
Alexandra says
This looks so delicious - what a fabulous combination of flavours. I will definitely be saving this to try very soon!
Julia Groves says
Oooh I have never paired figs and apricots before but this looks delicious.
Hollie says
This looks so good! I'm a huge fan, and while we do cook a lot more chicken in the crockpot, I may need to try making this.
Sue-Tanya Mchorgh says
Oh my goodness, this looks so tasty. I'll be trying this soon .
Monidipa Dutta says
So yummy! I can’t wait to give this recipe a try! It left me drooling..!!
Joanna says
I have never had figs in a savory dish before. But I'd like to try it, it sounds very intriguing. This chicken dish is definitely a treat.
Sara says
My kids have never tried figs but I think this recipe will be a good introduction for them. Thank you for sharing!
Tonya Morris says
This looks amazing! I love new ways of cooking chicken for dinner so I will definitely try this out!
Veena Azmanov says
I love apricot chicken and this with figs sounds like a bonus. Love the combination of fruit and chicken. Looks so delicious.
Yeah Lifestyle says
Figs and apricots aren't something I would have thought to pair together but this sounds so delicious! I am definitely going to be adding this recipe to my to try list.
Preet says
My kids would absolutely love these. This would disappear in no time at our house! This is my kind of weekend treat.
Fatima Torres says
This combination sounds like a delicious and savory dish. Worth trying for the kids.
Kelly Anthony says
Love the sweetness of the fruit against that balsamic! Such a great chicken dish. Perfect for date night and weeknights!
Analida Braeger says
This looks like the perfect dish to make for a crowd. So creative, savory, sweet, and beautiful. Roasted cherry tomatoes are one of my faves. Thanks for sharing.
Sherri says
Apricot chicken was one of my favorite dishes growing up, but I can't say that I've had fig and apricot chicken. It looks and sounds divine! I bet my family would love this dish! 🙂
Kara says
I have not eaten figs for years, but love them. This looks delicious
Marisa Franca says
This recipe looks absolutely amazing. I love the lightness of the coating on the chicken and then the sauce, well, it looks to die for. I always like to keep the skin on the thighs, if people don't like the skin they can always remove it. But if it's crunchy -- yum! And it does add more flavor to the meat. The sauce looks simply amazing!! Can't wait to try this.
Elizabeth Leaver says
This is such a unique recipe, at least to me, but I love the sound of it! Chicken thighs are my favourite, and all of those sauce ingredients are right up my street. Pinning this one for later!
Anne Lawton says
This chicken looks absolutely delicious! I am adding this to my list of recipes to try real soon!
Krista Price says
I love that the fig and apricot sauce is sweetened with honey. This recipe is such a great way to kick chicken thighs up a knotch! Thanks for sharing!
Natalie says
Fig and apricot with chicken? Oh, now you really got me interested. I can't wait to give this a try. I really like the flavors and I bet it's super delicious. Looks delicious that's for sure. Saving this recipe!
Ruchi says
Interesting combination! Never had fig and apricot in one dish, especially with the chicken. Must be very good!
NAti says
I love figs! I grew up eaten loads of them as my grandad had a tree in his backyard. Your recipe with a sweet-savory combination sounds delicious!
Tom M says
I had some leftover figs and apricots, and was searching for something to do with them. They seem to fit the bill. I will say, it is very good. I am confused by a few things though. Reagan, how is noted in the ingredients, but never identified as to where it should be added to the recipe. I had it at the beginning of sautéing the tomatoes, fruits, onion, and garlic since my experience shows, it’s best to sauté dried spices in with the vegetables. I feel that the initial temperature for roasting the chicken should have been higher like around 400 at least in order for this game to truly brown. Although the thighs were cooked, perfectly, one of the things that is best to love about size as many have posted here. I also found it interesting that the recipe indicates that it’s two servings. Those will be some very large people that are eating five or six days in the serving. so in short, I would say that, you are an excellent chef or a cook or perhaps someone helping edit your recipes would be helpful.