Chicken With Apricots, Lemon and Saffron Recipe (2024)

I've done this recipe (minus the tomato puree) many times, but I do all the braising on top of the stove. I use a pan with a glass lid so I can visually monitor the simmer. I like the chicken to be as crisp as possible, so I brown it with a little Wondra flour, flattening the thighs with a smaller, weighted pan on top. I make sure the braising liquid doesn't cover the skin (onions stay in the liquid, not on top). I remove the lid for the last 5-10 minutes to let the skin dry out a bit.

Is that halved black olives I see?

I wondered too. However, I have it in process. The stovetop part just renders fat and browns the skin. The braise time shouldn't be an issue based on past experience braising. I wondered at the time when I looked at the recipe, but then I rarely work with skin on thighs . . .

Just cooked this, but left it uncovered in the oven and roasted it for 40 minutes. I checked the pan after 20 minutes and added a little more white wine. The chicken was cooked through and the skin was crisp and delicious. The garnish with fresh cilantro, mint and pine nuts looked and tasted great. I’ll definitely make this one again.

step 4: Heat oven to 350 degrees. Transfer chicken, skin-side up, to a baking dish. Pour off some fat from the skillet, reserving about 2 tablespoons. THE TWO TABLESPOONS ARE USED FOR THE NEXT STEP-- BROWNING THE ONIONS

This could easily translate to a tagine. I have made something similar. Preserved lemons are also good.

I think you are looking at the apricots.

If you look to the right of the dish, you will see some dried apricots with darker coloration.

YUM. As I'm a fan of neither thighs nor bones, I caramelized the onions in a tablespoon of canola oil first, and then added them to a slow cooker along with two pounds of boneless, skinless breasts (cut into 1½-inch cubes) and the remainder of the (pre-garnish) ingredients. Five hours on low (I imagine 2½ hours on high would also) yielded tender, fall-apart-if-you-touch-it chicken and wonderfully complex and delicious flavor. The garnishes really add to the complexity and deliciousness.

A little too citrusy but otherwise a great dish!

Is there a substitute for Cardamom pods? Ground cardamom, perhaps?

OMG, WOW!!!! Made this as a "casual" Sunday night dinner and my guests were like "You went all out!". Fantastic flavors and so easy to make! Make as-is and you will not be disappointed. Thank you David! :)

Had a disappointing experience with this. Made the recipe as follows, except used a Dutch oven for stovetop and oven portion of the recipe. Made it a couple days ahead, reheated according to directions. My sauce was exceptionally bitter, to the point where it overpowered any of the other flavors. I know cooking lemons too long might cause some bitterness, could this be the issue?

If you do this, try using white wine instead of the lemon juice, and simmering on the stove sounds like it should work.

Wish this was a lil less bitter/sour. I think one lemon sliced to bake with is more than enough. I think it could do really well with the addition of some brown sugar or honey to cut the acidity of the wine/lemon/tomato.

This was one of the best things I’ve eaten, (although I’m a true sucker for lemon.) Subbed stock in for the water for a little extra richness and it wowed. I might consider putting the cardamom pods in a cheesecloth pouch next time to make them easier to remove.

This was just ok. The flavors didn’t really meld together. There’s a better similar recipe on Epicurious. Chicken tagine with apricots and almonds

Delicious! I used 6 thighs but they weighed almost 3 pounds total.

The thighs were tender and moist, but there was a bitter taste in the sauce. If I were to make it again, I would not include the lemon slices while braising in the over, because I believe the rind made the sauce bitter. Instead, I would increase the amount of lemon juice in the sauce and perhaps just use the lemon slices as garnish.

90 minutes for this isn't even aspirational, its just a lie. The timing in the recipe adds up to closer to 2hrsMade largely as written, in a cast iron Dutch oven. Liquid reduced beautifully during baking, meat fell off the bone without being mushy, apricots around the edges caramelized while the middle ones disintegrated into the sauce and balanced the bitterness of lemon rinds. Whole spices taste different than powdered and cardamom is often used whole - remove while eating! Will make again.

Had to sub with Rosé, and I think it worked fine. Only used 1 & 1/2 lemons, sliced and it was incredibly overpowering. 1 or 1/2 would likely suffice. Will try again with white wine and less lemon slices.

Thanks to past comments, this was excellent. Used 1 TB EVOO and less time to brown chicken; added garlic for 30 sec after onions; blanched slices of one large lemon; didn't add lemon juice to the saffron; steeped sliced apricots in a TB of white wine vinegar; no tomato puree but a squeeze of paste; crushed the coriander and fennel seeds and used 1/4 tsp ground cardamom; baked covered for 20m @ 375 then moved lemon slices atop chicken and baked uncovered for another 20m @ 375. Done in 1 hr!

It was delicious. I added crushed garlic, 5-6 cloves, and I switched the wine with chicken stock, and a dash of vinegar.

Following another suggestion, I cooked it in the slow cooker, using legs and thighs. I caramelized the onions separately, then added everything but the garnishes to the slow cooker and cooked for 4 hours at Medium. Quite different from the original recipe, of course, but so easy and delicious. As per another suggestion, I used half a preserved lemon, just the peel, in very thin slices. Season generously.