February 4, 2020

Braised Chicken with Prunes, January (or February) is for Comfort Food

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry ciruelas, cocina de invierno, cocina española, comfort food, guisado de pollo, January, pollo, pollo con ciruelas

A very early flight for the last of my adult sons return to college marked the end of the holiday season and the return to the routine. And routine, for me, means familiar dishes, comfort food. Braised chicken with prunes is a dish that brings me back to the normal, to the every day, with the familiarity and reassurance of what is known and expected.

The last weeks of the year were some of nonstop cooking, with relatives and friends coming and going, not to mention my two sons back home for the season. I made fancy dishes and simple ones, and baked all sorts of cookies and other sweets, all paired appropriately with great wines carefully picked by my husband, a wine lover and connoisseur. Today is a wet, dreary day, a typical January day, and everything is as it should be, including the chicken slowly braising on the stove.

They say January is a month of debt, of divorces, and of death. What a bad reputation this month has. Statistics show that more divorces happen in January than in any other month of the year, and sudden deaths also happen in a larger number after the holiday.

Personally, I like January — although, come to think of it, maybe not as much as I used to like it. I’ll explain: January, for me, has traditionally been a month of rest, of respite after the whirlwind that is the pre-Christmas and Christmas season. Pre-Christmas (or the period that goes from Thanksgiving and Christmas), with all the planning, shopping, decorating and baking. Christmas, with all the parties, religious and musical events, and  get-togethers (wonderful all of them!). January used to be a month of reconnecting with myself, of plans and resolutions for the new year, of new projects to tackle. 

Now, January is all that still, but with a certain emptiness, a more conscious feeling of the passing of time, as back to routine doesn’t mean the kids going back to school anymore, but the kids going back to where they now work, live, or study. 

Thankfully we still have our youngest one at home, and he keeps us on our toes! His curiosity and energy  surprises us every day, and his motivation in all the projects he undertakes is inspiring to me. As I’m writing this, I am listening to him composing at the piano, then running to the basement to record with his guitar, and edit with his recording software; then back upstairs to the piano for some more composing. Yep, we are back into the January routine.

Braised chicken with prunes is one of my go-to dishes. Comfort food at its best. Farm raised chicken slowly braised in a wine sauce to the point of tenderness that doesn’t even require a knife to cut it, and prunes that almost melt in the sauce, soaked up in it. There are good reasons to love January.

BRAISED CHICKEN WITH PRUNES

Pollo Guisado con Ciruelas Pasas

Ingredients:

2 1/2 to 3 lbs chicken thighs (or a whole chicken, cut into pieces)

1 medium to large onion

4 cloves garlic

1/3 cup olive oil

1 cup red wine

10-12 oz prunes

2 bay leaves

1 cup chicken stock 

1 cup flour

Salt and Pepper to taste

 

Place the prunes in a small bowl and cover with the wine. Let the prunes soak in the wine for at least 1 hour. 

Generously season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground pepper on all sides. 

Thinly slice the garlic and onion. In a heavy bottom stock pot, or a cast-iron casserole, heat  3 Tbs olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until translucent, 6 to 7 minutes. Remove from the pot and set aside. Add the remaining olive oil to the casserole. 

Spread the flour in a shallow bowl. Coat the chicken pieces with flour and shake any excess. Add the chicken pieces to the casserole and sear on well on all sides, 10-15 minutes — avoid overcrowding the chicken pieces; if necessary, work in batches. 

Add the prunes and wine, add the stock, the bay leaves and the onion and garlic mixture to the casserole. Cover and cook at medium-low heat for about 50-60 minutes (uncover every 20 minutes and gently stir, turning the chicken pieces over so everything cooks evenly). Uncover the casserole and cook an extra 10 minutes or so at low heat, until sauce thickens slightly. The chicken and sauce will also turn a darker color.

NOTE: add more chicken stock as necessary, but make sure you cook until the sauce thickens and turns a darker color

To serve, make sure you spoon a few prunes with the sauce.

I like to serve with baby steamed potatoes or roasted potatoes, to soak up the sauce.