Shared by Alissa Timoshkina
Shared by Alissa Timoshkina
Chicken with Prunes
Yield: 4-6 servingsTime: 45 minutes
Chicken with Prunes
Yield: 4-6 servingsTime: 45 minutesFamily Journey
Simferopol, UkraineLuhansk, UkraineOmsk, Russia
Luhansk, UkraineOmsk, RussiaRishon LeZion, Israel
London
“This recipe is a nod to the Ashkenazi tradition of cooking savory dishes with prunes, as well as to a common practice of those living in the Soviet Union to cook the popular Georgian dish chicken tabaka,” writes cookbook author Alissa Timoshkina, who was raised in Siberia. “I have fond memories of my prababushka [great-grandmother] frying chicken on the stove top with plenty of garlicky butter splattering about!”
Alissa serves this for Shabbat dinner alongside Ukrainian tovchanka, a potato and bean mash topped with poppy seeds, her great-grandmother’s challah recipe, and beetroot and pickled cucumbers salad.
Cooking Note: This recipe calls for schmaltz (rendered chicken, goose, or duck fat), which can be purchased at butcher shops and specialty/kosher stores. You can also make your own by following steps 1 and 2 of our Chopped Liver Toasts with Gribenes & Schmaltz recipe. Alternatively, use 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil.
Read more about Alissa’s family in “From Crimea to London: Two Shabbat Celebrations 100 Years Apart.”
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral oil for frying
- 4 chicken legs
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 3½ tablespoons schmaltz (or 2 tablespoons sunflower oil)
- 6 shallots, sliced in half lengthways
- ½ cup red wine
- ½ cup chicken stock
- ¼ teaspoon dried thyme
- ¼ teaspoon dried oregano
- ¼ teaspoon dried parsley
- 1 cup prunes, roughly chopped
Preparation
Step 1
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Step 2
Generously salt the chicken on both sides. Set a large, oven-proof pan over high heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil. Sear the chicken legs skin-side down for about 5 minutes, until golden. Remove the chicken and set aside.
Step 3
Melt the schmaltz in the same pan, then add the halved shallots cut-side down. Fry for 5 minutes, or until most of the fat is absorbed.
Step 4
Pour red wine into the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, until the alcohol has evaporated.
Step 5
Add the chicken stock, kosher salt to taste, dried herbs, and prunes. Reduce the liquid over high heat for 2–3 minutes.
Step 6
Return the chicken legs to the pan, skin-side up, and place in the preheated oven. Cook for 25 minutes, or until golden and fully cooked. Serve immediately.
