Autumn Chicken Escabeche with Roasted Apples and Grapes
This autumn braised chicken escabeche with roasted apples and grapes is the perfect start to the season.
This autumn braised chicken escabeche with roasted apples and grapes is the perfect start to the season.
- 2 leaves
- 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
- 1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken breasts thighs or a mix
- kosher salt and pepper
- 1 sweet onion diced
- 2 cloves garlic smashed
- 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
- 1 1/2 cups white wine
- 1 1/2 cups apple cider
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 2 jalapeno or fresno chiles sliced
- 4 thyme sprigs
- 1 apple sliced
- 1 1/2 cups grapes
- Carbohydrate 24.7085830390966 g
- Cholesterol 65.77089365 mg
- Fat 6.21855448758869 g
- Fiber 2.2537206016434 g
- Protein 27.3741757344884 g
- Saturated Fat 1.0566454508292 g
- Serving Size 1 1 (349g)
- Sodium 110.975681692889 mg
- Sugar 22.4548624374532 g
- Trans Fat 0.688366920988507 g
- Calories 277 calories
Step-by-step
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
- Heat the olive oil in a large dutch oven or cast iron skillet set over medium high heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. When the oil shimmers, add the chicken and sear on both sides until golden, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the skillet.
- To the same skillet, add the onion, garlic, and cumin seeds. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onion is fragrant and the cumin seeds toasted, about 8-10 minutes. Slowly pour in the wine, cider, and apple cider vinegar. Bring to a boil over high heat and then reduce to low. Slide the chicken back into the skillet, skin side up, it should be mostly submerged. Add the chile, bay leaves, and thyme. Sprinkle the apples around the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, add the grapes and return to the oven for another 10-15 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
- Let the chicken rest 5 minutes and serve with the sauce drizzled over the chicken with the roasted apples and grapes. Enjoy!
Adding the grapes during the final ten to fifteen minutes of roasting prevents them from collapsing into a watery purée while still allowing their skins to burst and integrate into the cooking liquid. Testers who throw the fruit in at the very beginning alongside the chicken often find themselves with a completely disintegrated mess of skins and seeds rather than distinct, plump pockets of sweetness. Cumin seeds require a full eight to ten minutes in the residual fat of the rendered chicken and allium mixture to release their essential oils fully; rushing this step leaves the spices tasting raw and bitter against the sweet apple cider braising liquid. Fresh apples hold their structural integrity better during high-heat roasting than their preserved or dehydrated counterparts, resisting the aggressive oven environment set at 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Cast iron skillets or heavy Dutch ovens retain enough thermal mass to brown poultry evenly without scorching the delicate garlic cloves nestled at the bottom of the pan. When Dutch ovens are unavailable for this method, any heavy-bottomed braising vessel with a tight-fitting lid will suffice, though metal pans require more vigilant monitoring to prevent the vinegar-heavy reduction from burning at the edges. Fresh jalapeño or Fresno chiles supply a clean, herbaceous heat that bottled hot sauces cannot replicate, cutting cleanly through the dense sugars of the wine and cider reduction.
