Chicken Braised with Prunes and Shallots

A hearty, comforting dish, cooked in one pot, easy to make and inexpensive. This recipe for chicken braised with prunes and shallots is a kid friendly family meal that is sure to go down a treat.

I grew up eating this chicken dish. It was my family's all time favourite midweek meal. I love making this dish for my family now as it brings back so many fond memories of my childhood.

A combination of sweet and savoury, cooked with a dry sherry and finished with chopped parsley, makes this simple dish the star of a weeknight meal.

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• One Pot Chicken Recipe
• Chicken braised with Prunes and Shallots

One Pot Chicken Recipe

Nothing is better than a recipe that needs only one pot to cook especially when I am cooking at home in Chef mode! Shilpi often reminds me that we do not have a stewarding team to clean up the mess after I finish cooking (not that I am that messy but I do like to use all kinds of pots and pans😋).

So anytime we can make a one pot meal like this chicken casserole, it is an instant win with the family!

What you need

Here is what you need for this Chicken braised with prunes and shallots recipe.

• Chicken thigh- is the right cut for this braising dish. Skin on chicken works best for flavour and texture and always buy free range of course. Now for our boy, we prefer boneless, he has become a picky eater and won't touch it otherwise. But if you are okay with bones, buy chicken thighs with bone in...much better. We tied the chicken thighs with a string otherwise they open up. Skip this step if you opt for bone in chicken.
• Prunes- these juicy dried plums work wonder in this dish. Best to use pitted prunes to avoid going to the dentist!
• Shallots- give the dish more sweetness, if you can't find shallots, use brown onions instead.

• Chicken stock- will make the sauce tastier. Homemade or store bought, both work just fine.
• Balsamic vinegar- gives the sauce the right balance and cuts the sweetness of the dish.
• Sherry wine- a dry sherry enhances the flavour of the sauce. Sherry lasts only for a few days after a bottle has been opened, so if you are not a sherry drinker then feel free to replace it with a white wine or brandy.
• Crème fraiche and cornflour- both are used to thicken the sauce and to give the dish it's creaminess.

All these ingredients are easy to find! Now just follow our step by step recipe, to make this hearty delicious chicken dish for your next family meal.

How to make it

The key to this recipe is the gravy. It not only brings all the flavours together, it also makes the dish stand out.

To get there, follow these steps.

Season the Chicken thighs before searing the pieces in olive oil. Remove the chicken thighs from the pan once they have browned. Next, add the shallots and give them some colour too.

At this point, add the tomato paste and roast for a few seconds. Deglaze the pan with a glass of sherry.

This will loosen and dissolve the food that is stuck to the bottom of the pan after searing. Now the chicken pieces go back into the pan.

Add the prunes, balsamic vinegar, thyme and chicken stock. Simmer all together for 15 minutes.

Remove the chicken and reduce the sauce for another 5 minutes before adding the cream and cornflour to thicken the sauce. Add the chicken pieces back into the pan and garnish with freshly chopped parsley before serving it hot.

This is exactly the kind of food we like to eat at home - simple, rustic yet sophisticated.

We hope you enjoy making and eating this dish as much as we do! Looking for more Chicken Recipes? Try or Hainanese Chicken, another great family meal.

What to serve with Chicken and Prune Casserole?

We like to eat the Chicken braised with prunes and shallots, simply with steamed vegetables and sourdough bread.
Other ideas are:

• with homemade naan bread and zaatar
• with white rice and whole roasted cauliflower
• with pasta, asparagus and kale
• with oven roasted baby carrots and mashed potatoes

Essentially whatever you make with this one pot recipe, it will be a winner because you made it! Let us know in the comments if you try this Chicken recipe. We would love to know what you thought of it.