Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges

"Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges," from Make It Like a Man!

These balsamic figs are have a fantastic tang that dresses up a chicken breast in the best way. The figs can be prepared completely separately from the chicken, which offers the cook a huge advantage in practicality.

For the chicken and figs:

Ingredients to serve 4:

1/2 medium onion, peeled
1/4 tsp salt, or to taste
4 oz. (1 generous half-cup) dried, Black Mission figs
1 Tbs butter
1 tsp thyme
1/2 cup chicken stock
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
Freshly-ground black pepper
4 ready-to-eat chicken breasts (see notes)

How to do it:
  1. Finely chop the onion.  Finely chop the figs.
  2. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add thyme and stir for 30 seconds. Add onion, season with salt, and cook until translucent, about 3 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, and cook until the liquid almost runs dry, about 3 minutes. Correct salt, add pepper to taste.
  3. Allow the figs to stand as you prepare the chicken. Serve warm or at room temperature, spooned over chicken.
Notes:

The figs go nicely with any kind of plain chicken breasts, no matter how you’ve prepared them. Let me point you to my favorite chicken breast recipes, if you’d like some traditional-style suggestions.

If you want something more cutting edge, check out the sous vide method that I use for this Chicken Parmesan recipe. I go through regular spates of buying family packs of breasts on the weekend, popping them all into a single bag, and sous viding them, and them moving them directly into the fridge. Not only do they create a great source of protein that you can transform into so many kinds of interesting dishes during the week, but reheated sous vide chicken is better than most freshly-made sautéed breasts. Seriously! Pan frying chicken breast usually starts on the stovetop and ends in the oven. With a leftover sous vide breast straight from the fridge, it starts and ends in the pan. By the time it’s browned, it’s heated through, which is all that’s needed. And you can do to the breast in the pan whatever you’d normally do: brown it, bread it, grill it … whatever.

"Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges," from Make It Like a Man!

For the potatoes:

Ingredients to serve 4:

1 lb. 8 oz. new potatoes
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 Tbs olive oil

How to do it:
  1. Preheat the oven to 450°F.
  2. Quarter the potatoes into wedges. Place them on a rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle them with rosemary, salt, and pepper. Drizzle olive oil over the potatoes. Using two large spatulas, toss the potatoes. Make sure to get all of them covered in oil, and to get oil all over the bottom of the baking sheet.
  3. Slide the potatoes into the oven and bake until the potatoes are tender and browned, 30-40 minutes. Check seasoning. Serve immediately.

Logistics:

The figs can be prepared way ahead, kept in the fridge and reheated. The potatoes can be prepped up to the point that they should be baked, and then held for a while on the countertop before baking. They should be served before they get cold, and they don’t reheat especially well, so you’ll want to time the potatoes so that they finish just as you’re finishing the chicken.

"Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges," from Make It Like a Man!

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Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! Thank you, Kesor. This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. The plates I prepared for this post also had a serving of Pumpkin Gratin, which can also be made ahead and reheated. 

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47 thoughts on “Chicken with Balsamic Figs and Roasted Potato Wedges

  1. Oh my! This recipe is making my taste buds sing. What a GREAT combination – figs and chicken. I would not have thought of those two together before seeing your recipe. But … Mmmmm. Sounds fantastic. Thanks for sharing.
    Linger recently posted…Easy Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

  2. Your Balsamic Figs sounds wonderful and a relish that will not only be on chicken in this house but also atop a fine grilled pork cutlet as well. Either would pair very well with your rosemary roasted potatoes.
    Jeff, I’m with your about sous vide chicken breast. For us, it’s the only way to cook them. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t eat chicken breast until I tasted sous vide chicken breast. Now I’m converted. Have you tried sous vide turkey breast? I know it would be a treat with your Balsamic Figs.
    Ron recently posted…An update and “Löjrom, råraka, rödlök, & crème fraiche”…                                      

    • Turkey breast – what a great idea! I’m sure this relish would be fantastic on pork, too.

  3. The sous vide master is at it again! I must admit, Jeff, that you talking about sous vide has inspired me to think about pulling out our sous vide wand again. I’m also glad to see that you used dried figs here. I went hunting for fresh figs up here one time…that took a near act of God to get fresh figs in upstate New York. Seriously.
    David @ Spiced recently posted…Swiss Cake Roll

  4. What a lovely combination. Dried figs are so good; I prefer them over fresh in fact. And I love figs mixed with savory. I often use them in chutneys for that reason. This is really great.
    Mimi recently posted…Mu Shu Pork

  5. I usually have a bag of dried figs around the house because I like to snack on them. I’ll keep this recipe in the inspiration file, otherwise known as the back of my muddled brain… GREG

  6. The balsamic figs really turned an ordinary chicken dish into something extraordinary. I can only imagine how wonderful those balsamic figs taste.

  7. What a great topping for chicken Jeff. I can imagine that sweet fig topping contrasting with the chicken so well. And rosemary roasted potatoes? Yeah you’ve got me hooked right into this one. Love it!
    Neil recently posted…Slow Cooker Lamb Curry

  8. We made these for supper last night using salt and paprika for seasonings. So good!

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