Normally we think of figs in preserves, jellies and desserts. I decided to go the savory route with this dish. I pulled out the tagine and got to work.
In case you're not familiar with a tagine, here a picture. They are used in Moroccan cuisine.
6 - 8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
2 T. butter
2 T. olive oil
1/2 cup flour
S & P
1/2 t. ground corinader
1/2 t. ground turmeric
1 leek, white and light green part, thoroughly rinsed
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup white wine
10 figs, cut in half
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. honey
3 T. fennel seeds, crushed
handful of thyme sprigs
1 sprig of rosemary, stripped and finely minced
Juice of 1 lemon
In the bottom of your tagine or Dutch oven, melt butter with olive oil over medium high heat. Mix flour with S and P and spices. Wash and pat dry chicken and dredge in flour mixture. Brown chicken on both sides in batches and set aside to drain on paper towels.
There should still be some of the olive oil/butter mixture in the tagine or Dutch oven. Lower the heat to medium. Saute' the leek until it softens, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add the garlic and saute' for another minute or so.
Deglaze the pan with the wine and scrape all the browned bits from the pan. Let the wine boil for about a minute. Add the chicken back into the pan.
Cover and let the chicken cook for about 15 minutes. Turn the chicken pieces over and rearrange the ones on top to the bottom and vice versa.
Add the remaining ingredients. Cover the pan and reduce heat to medium low and let cook for about 20 more minutes.
Once chicken reaches an internal temperature of 180 degrees it will be done. Remove the chicken from the braising liquid and increase heat to let it boil and thicken slightly. Serve with couscous.
For this dish, I steamed a little diced zucchini and yellow squash and mixed in with the cooked couscous. Quarter some pita bread, brush with a little olive oil and stick in a warm oven for about 5 minutes.
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