While cruising social media I found a few chicken vinegar recipes to tempt me, but the one that really caught my eye was the dish on the How Sweet Eats instagram, and while I thought it was already tempting, I felt it needed something more to make it irresistible, and after experimenting I found the missing ingredient: DATES. Yummy, succulent, sweet dates (what can I say, you can take me out of Israel but can’t take the Israeli out of me). This chicken dish, I have to say, is different to what I normally cook (which I love and am therefore wedded to), but this one is a delectable fling with an exotic stranger (and who doesn’t dream of that?). The chicken is tender, juicy and flavoursome and the sauce it’s cooked in is slightly tangy with just a hint of sweetness. I would have saved time if I had just slurped it up with a straw, instead of carrying on the charade that I needed to taste it with a soup spoon, JUST ONE MORE TIME. I served up this saucy little stranger in the company of my regular friends: roasted potatoes and salad.
What can I say this is truly a delish, dinner, dish for the whole familia. In the immortal last words of Casablanca: this could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
Ingredients:
6 pieces chicken thigh, on the bone
Salt and pepper according to taste
1 tablespoon oil
1 tablespoon butter
¼ cup balsamic vinegar
5 cloves garlic, crushed
25 pieces button mushrooms
15 dried dates
1 tablespoon date syrup (if you don’t have it, just add a few more dates)
150mls pouring cream
Finely chopped continental parsley for garnish
Method
Season chicken with salt and pepper
In a large pan, heat the oil on medium heat and brown chicken on each side, just until nice and golden brown in colour. Shouldn’t take more than a couple of minutes each side.
Remove the chicken and set aside
Add the butter to the pan, then add garlic and then mushrooms, cook for 6-7 minutes.
The following step is not necessary, but If you are like me and you love your mushrooms firm, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside on a plate. If you don’t need firm mushies, just leave them in the pan.
Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for two minutes. Add the cream and give it a good stir, add the dates and stir again.
Put the chicken back in the pan, cover with a lid and cook until almost cooked through, put the mushrooms back in the pan, cook for another five minutes.
Garnish with parsley and serve hot on a bed of rice, mashed potatoes or oven roasted potatoes.
Enjoy
Always happy to hear from you.
With love and gratitude
Nava