Chicken with grapes and rosemary

Diana Henry
·2-min read
casserole dish with jointed chicken pieces with grapes and rosemary sprigs
For moist chicken, get a good colour on it but don’t overcook - Liz & Max Haarala Hamilton & Valerie Berry

Get a good colour on the chicken but don’t overcook it, especially the bits of breast. It needs to stay moist. If there isn’t enough liquid around the chicken, crush some of the grapes using the back of a wooden spoon.

Overview

Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

45 mins

Serves

4

Ingredients

  • 1 large chicken, about 1.9kg, jointed into 8 pieces

  • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

  • 15 garlic cloves, peeled

  • 200ml chicken stock (optional)

  • 325g seedless grapes, green, black or a mixture, in little bunches

  • 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary

  • 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar

Method

Step 1

Heat the oven to 190C/180C fan/gas mark 5. Trim the skin on the chicken joints so there are no saggy bits. (The skin shrinks when the chicken is fried, so don’t remove too much and end up with too little.)

Step 2

Heat 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil in a large, shallow ovenproof pan and cook the chicken in batches, skin-side down first for 5-6 minutes. Season as you go. Don’t move the chicken too soon – you want to get a good golden colour but if you move it while the chicken is still sticking to the base of the pan, the skin will tear.

Step 3

Turn the pieces over and cook for about 3-4 minutes more, just until the flesh is pale gold. Remove the chicken to a bowl as the pieces are ready.

Step 4

Carefully pour out all but 2 ½ tbsp of the fat from the pan. Set over a medium heat and add 15 peeled garlic cloves, cooking them for about 2 minutes, until they are pale golden.

Step 5

Deglaze the pan with 200ml chicken stock or water. Add 325g seedless grapes (in bunches) and 8 rosemary sprigs. Put the chicken, skin-side up, back in the pan. Add any juices that have run out of the chicken into the bowl. Spoon over 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar and season generously.

Step 6

Put in the oven and roast for 20 minutes. Check if the dish is done by piercing one of the chicken joints – the juices that run out should not be pink, but clear. If they aren’t, put the chicken back in the oven for 5 more minutes at a time.

Step 7

Pull some of the clusters of grapes from among the chicken so that you can see them. Serve from the pan or transfer it all to a warm platter.

Latest stories