Cook your week
Peach Chicken
Serves 6 This recipe from The Chronicle archives takes on the sweet and savory elements often seen on the Rosh Hashanah table. Look for ripe, sweet peaches that aren’t too mushy — they’ll break down a bit as they cook. You can use any bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces, but try to make them similar in size; breasts likely will need to be cut into pieces. Good accompaniments would be rice or noodle kugel.
1 whole chicken, 4½ to 5 pounds, cut into 10 pieces (or an equivalent amount of bone-in, skin-on chicken parts) Kosher salt and ground black
pepper, to taste 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 large onion, quartered and cut
into ½-inch slices 2 green onions, white and light green parts thinly sliced; dark green parts cut into ½-inch slices 2 cloves garlic, sliced thin 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard ½ cup dry white wine ¾ to 1 cup low-sodium chicken
broth 4 large peaches (about 1½ pounds), peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks 2 teaspoons honey + more to taste ¾ teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
Instructions: Preheat the oven to 375°.
Season the chicken pieces liberally with kosher salt and pepper. Heat a large frying pan over high heat. Add the oil, and when it is very hot but not smoking, place the chicken, skin-side down in the pan (you may need to do this in batches). Let the chicken brown, without moving, for 5 minutes. Turn over and cook 2 minutes more; transfer to a roasting pan. Repeat until all of the chicken is browned.
Pour all but 1-2 tablespoons of the oil into the roasting pan with the chicken. Bake 25-30 minutes, until mostly cooked through.
Meanwhile, place the frying pan back on the stove over low heat. Add the onions, white and light green parts of the green onions, and garlic; stir to coat with the oil. Cook about 15 minutes, stirring often, until the onions have softened and are slightly caramelized.
Turn heat to high, add the mustard, and stir to incorporate. Add the white wine and stir to scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Simmer until the wine is reduce by half, about 2-3 minutes.
Add the chicken broth and reduce heat to medium. Simmer about 3-5 minutes, until slightly reduced. Add the peaches and honey; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with kosher salt and pepper, and stir in the rosemary and the dark green parts of the green onions, saving some for the garnish.
Remove the chicken from the oven and pour the sauce over the chicken, nestling the peaches around the chicken pieces. If you want a crisper skin, pour the sauce into the bottom of the pan, avoiding the skin of the chicken.
Place the pan back into the oven and bake another 10 minutes to let the flavors meld, spooning more of the sauce over the chicken halfway through, if desired.
Remove from the oven and garnish with the remaining green onions. Serve hot.
Per serving: 347 calories, 34 g protein, 15 g carbohydrates, 15 g fat (4 g saturated), 100 mg cholesterol, 135 mg sodium, 3 g fiber.