Balsamic Vinegar, Peach, Apricot and Honey Chicken Thighs

Back when I was doing AIP (the autoimmune protocol diet) full time, this is one of the recipes I absolutely loved!  I managed to find it and change it up a bit, and it was every bit as good as I remembered.  Savory with a touch of sweetness, subtle and delicious...and relatively easy!

Ingredients

• 4-6 chicken thighs, bone in, with skins
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (or oil of your choice)
  
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup chicken broth  (I didn't have ny one hand that wasn't frozen solid, so I made my own with water and Better than Bullion Chicken Flavor)
  
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 peaches, sliced thin or 1 can of organic peaches
• 1/4 cup sliced dried apricots (optional)
  
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp fresh basil, sliced
  

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

 

I used a a large oven-safe skillet to cook the chicken--they JUST fit in my big square cast iron frying pan.

 

Pat the chicken thighs dry with a paper towel so they won't spatter too much in the hot oil.

 

Heat the oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, add the chicken thighs to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side to lightly crisp. Set aside.

 

Reduce the heat to medium and saute the garlic for 2-3 minutes.

 

Mix the chicken broth, balsamic vinegar, honey, and salt and pepper; stir to combine. Pour into the skillet and heat until the mixture reaches a low simmer.

 

Add the sliced peaches (drain if using canned peaches) and apricots to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes more.

 

Add the chicken thighs back to the pan, snugging them amongst the peaches and apricots and spoon the liquid over top.

 

Transfer the pan to the oven and allow to cook for 18-20 minutes uncovered or until the internal temperature of the chicken thighs reaches 165 F.  (Two of our thighs were much bigger than the others, so we ate the small ones and let the others cook till done.)

 

Serve with fresh chopped basil--it really did add a nice flavor punch, but it's not really necessary if you don't have fresh!

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We served them with steamed broccoli, buttered and sprinkled with fresh Parmesan cheese--and I have a confession to make.  The photo above was the leftovers, we dived right in the first night, and reheated everything in a skillet the second night, served this time with roasted cauliflower...delicious!

The original recipe was from the Unbound Wellness blog, but as usual I tweaked and changed things around...