Chicken with dried prunes, shallots and cider

Golden-brown chicken with tender shallots, savoury bacon lardons and dried prunes. Everything cooks together in a cast-iron pan, allowing the prunes to infuse the gravy with their flavour.

Serves: 4 people
Preparation: approximately 15 minutes
Cooking: approximately 70 minutes
Total time: approximately 85 minutes

Ingredients

• 4 large bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, approximately 900 g–1 kg in total
• 150 g pitted dried prunes
• 100 g smoked bacon lardons
• 4 shallots
• 250 ml chicken stock, preferably not too salty
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• freshly ground black pepper
• salt, to taste

Preparation

1. Prepare the ingredients
   Peel the shallots and halve them lengthways. Check that all the prunes are pitted. If the prunes are hard and dry, soak them in warm water for approximately 20 minutes and drain well. Soft prunes can be used straight away.
2. Prepare the chicken
   Pat the chicken thighs thoroughly dry and season them with freshly ground black pepper and a little salt.

Method

1. Preheat the oven
   Preheat the oven to 180 °C, conventional heat. Use an ovenproof cast-iron pan approximately 30 cm in diameter.
2. Brown the chicken
   Gently heat the pan over a medium-high heat and add the olive oil. Place the chicken skin-side down in the pan and cook for 8–10 minutes, until the skin is deep golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook the other side for approximately 3 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan.
3. Cook the bacon and shallots
   Leave approximately 1 tablespoon of cooking fat in the pan and remove the excess fat. Cook the bacon lardons for approximately 3 minutes. Add the shallots and cook for another approximately 5 minutes, until lightly coloured.
4. Make the gravy
   Pour the chicken stock into the pan and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom. Stir in the Dijon mustard and add the thyme and bay leaf. Bring the gravy gently to the boil.
5. Cook the chicken in the oven
   Return the chicken to the pan, skin-side up. Keep the skin above the liquid as much as possible. Place the uncovered pan in the oven for 20–25 minutes.
6. Add the prunes
   Distribute the prunes between the chicken pieces and press them partially into the gravy. Return the pan to the oven for another 15–20 minutes. Add a small splash of hot water if the gravy looks likely to reduce too much. Check that the chicken is cooked: the internal temperature in the thickest part should be at least 75 °C, without the thermometer touching the bone.
7. Rest the chicken and serve
   Remove the pan from the oven and discard the bay leaf and thyme sprigs. Taste the gravy and season further with pepper and salt if necessary. Leave the chicken to rest for approximately 5 minutes. When serving, spoon the gravy around the chicken so that the skin stays as crisp as possible.

Delicious with mashed potatoes and green beans.