Making the most of Autumnal fruits with sweet juicy English plums readily available from September, this is a simple roasting tin dinner that’s quick to assemble and cooks while you prepare the vegetables. Works well with fluffy mash to soak up the juices and steamed greens. It has a delicious balance of sweet, salty and sour. Freezes well. Serves 4.
Ingredients:
- 125gm butter, softened
- 1 small bunch of tarragon, finely chopped
- 8 chicken thighs
- 1 large red onion – but can be omitted if you are on a FODMAP diet – cut into wedges. Actually, I substituted sliced fennel in my recipe because of digestive issues with onion and it worked well
- 1tbsp olive oil
- 200ml white wine – I often freeze any wine not drunk before it goes to vinegar, to use in cooking.
- 8 plums, halved and stoned
- 1tbsp sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar
- 1tsp runny honey
- Preheat oven to 200C/gas 6
- Using a fork, mash the butter and tarragon with a good pinch of salt
- Lay the chicken and onion/fennel in a large greased roasting tin and smother the chicken with the tarragon butter. Drizzle the oil over, then pour the wine into the base of the tin and pop it into the oven. Cook for 20 minutes, then add the plums and cook for another 20 minutes.
- When the chicken is beginning to brown and is cooked through, baste it with the juices, then slosh over the vinegar and drizzle over a little honey. Put it back in the oven for another 7-10 minutes. Then remove from the oven and allow to rest for a few minutes before serving.