Pollo con albicocche
e mandorle
Chicken with almonds and apricots
This recipe of chicken with almonds and apricots is originally North African, but it is absolute perfect with a creamy orzotto made on pearl barley or Sicilian couscous.
Chicken with almonds and apricots is a mashup of different culinary traditions and ingredients. The sweet and savoury combination of dried fruit and poultry speaks of Arab influences. There are tomatoes from South America and oriental spices. And then there’s the lemon that can be counterbalanced by a little honey if you feel the need for additional sweetness.
It reminds me of a breakfast we had at the Centro Culturale Italo-Arabo in Via Fiochetto in Turin, where the restaurant Al Andalus caters to visitors of the hammam and journalist café. A wonderful place to experience the modern multi-cultural aspect of Italy.
Ingredients
1 chicken
2 onions
500 g tomato paste
1 tsp sugar
1 stick cinnamon
1 tsp saffron
2 tsp coriander
1 organic lemon
100 g dried apricots
2 tbsp blanced and chopped almonds
2 tbsp sesame seeds
Olive oil, salt and pepper
Preparation
Cut the chicken in six separate pieces and fry them golden in olive oil in a heavy saucepan.
Peel and blend the onions
Add onions to the fried chicken along with sugar, saffron, cinnamon and coriander.
Cut the lemon in quarters and add them to the stew along with the apricots.
Mix with tomato paste, cover under lid and let the chicken simmer for 40 minutes.
Blanch and peel the almonds and chop them coarsely.
Give them a toast along with sesame seeds on a dry drying pan.
Adjust the taste with salt, pepper, more lemon juice or a little honey.
Sprinkle the chicken with almonds and sesame seeds before serving.
Serve chicken with almonds and apricots with a creamy orzotto or steamed couscous.
Wow, you can definitely see the influences from other cultures and countries in this dish. Think I would go the honey route to add a little more sweetness just to sample as many flavours as possible in the one dish! :)
Julia
Tempting. But using dried apricots, I think I’ll taste the sauce before adding the honey. Though it’s highly unlikely it might become too sweet – even for my taste.