One-pan chicken with apples and prunes

YOU WILL NEED

Olive oil 4 chicken thighs, skin on and bones in Sea salt Black pepper

100ml dry white wine 1 tbsp runny honey 1 tbsp apple cider vinegar or white balsamic vinegar 100g pitted prunes 2 large Jazz apples 4 sprigs fresh thyme, plus extra to serve

DIRECTIONS

■ Preheat the oven to 190°C/Gas Mark 5. Heat the oil over a medium high heat in a non-stick casserole dish.

■ Season the chicken thighs, and brown them in a frying pan for a few minutes on each side until just golden. Remove from the pan and set aside.

■ Pour off any excess fat in the pan and return to the heat, turning it down to medium. Add the wine and allow the alcohol to bubble off for 1-2 minutes. Carefully scrape off any baked-on bits into the sauce. ■ Add the honey, vinegar and prunes to the pan, whisking until the honey is dissolved. Let the sauce simmer for another 4-5 minutes until the prunes have started to soften and the sauce is reduced by half. Season the mixture well.

■ Meanwhile, core the apples and cut them into sixths. Add the apples to the pan and toss to coat them in the sauce. Nestle the chicken thighs around the prunes and apple slices skin side down. Turn them over so that the skin is also coated in the sauce, which will caramelise in the oven.

■ Tuck a thyme sprig under each chicken thigh. Transfer the dish to the oven for 35 minutes. The chicken thighs should become dark and brown, the prunes should become plump and sticky, and the apple slices should have browned and softened. There should still be a good amount of rich sauce in the bottom of the pan. Serve with the remaining thyme leaves.

Recipe and image courtesy of Rachel Phipps, rachelphipps.com