“If nothing is going well, call your grandmother.”
~ Italian Proverb
My beloved Nana was never a fancy cook. Her food was simple, tasty, quick to prepare and always economical. I have missed her so much since she passed in late 2012, but whenever I make one of her recipes I always feel that she is here with me in the kitchen.
Today I’m sharing one of her best-loved recipes – Apricot Chicken.
I also have a jazzed-up version of this humble fare, but right now I’m in the mood for her traditional recipe. Served with rice and vegetables it’s a great family dinner. It also freezes and reheats well and is terrific for feeding a crowd cheaply and well.
This recipe will feed four hungry adults easily.
Ingredients:
1 kilogram of chicken thigh fillets, 1 large onion, 2 rashers of bacon, 1 tablespoon of oil or butter, 1 x 40 gram packet of French Onion Soup mixture, 1 x 420 gram tin of Apricot Nectar (or about 2 cups), 1 x 410 gram tin of apricots in juice, salt and pepper.
Method:
Chop the bacon and onion. Remove skin from chicken thighs and cut meat into chunks. Place bacon and onion with the oil/butter in a heavy-bottomed large frypan or saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the bacon and onion become fragrant and begin to brown a little.
Add the chicken pieces and continue cooking, stirring every so often, until the chicken is seared and has also begun to colour. This will take about five minutes.
Combine the apricot nectar and onion soup mix in a jug and stir well.
Pour nectar over chicken pieces, and then add the apricot halves and juice. Stir to combine. Bring to the boil, stirring so that nothing catches on the bottom.
Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve the chicken on a bed of rice, making sure to ladle plenty of the sauce over the meat.
It also tastes delicious with some chopped fresh shallot (green onion) or parsley sprinkled over the top.
Add some fresh seasonal vegetables or a salad and you’re ready to go!
Your grandmother had good taste! This looks great!