Red Currant-Glazed Chicken with Spinach

ooray for another first - as many times as I've made chicken in the past decade, this was the first time I bought a whole roaster and broke it down into 8 parts. But its all strategery, good friends - I loaded up the roasting pan, kicked back and enjoyed the show. Once dinner was done, I stashed the skin and other inedibles in the freezer for this weekend's chicken stock.

Adding the red currant jelly at the 10 minute mark was the key to getting that gorgeous golden brown finish on the skin. I basted the chicken with about half the peppery jelly and then topped off the rest when I plated the meal. However, I nearly doubled the cook time to 45 minutes just to get the chicken up to temperature.

As has been the case with most of the Real Simple plan, its the side dish that I'll be talking about for a while. Who puts raisins with spinach? Apparently, I do, because YUM! I'd totally make this spinachy goodness again.

WEDNESDAY:



Red Currant-Glazed Chicken with Spinach

Serves 4

Hands-on Time: 25m

Total Time: 35m

Ingredients

* 1/2 cup red currant jelly
* 1⁄4 to 1⁄2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
* 2 1/2 pounds bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* kosher salt and black pepper
* 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
* 1/4 cup golden raisins
* 1 10-ounce package fresh spinach, thick stems removed

Directions

1. Heat oven to 425° F. In a small bowl, whisk together the jelly and red pepper.

2. Place the chicken on a rimmed baking sheet. Rub with 1 tablespoon of the oil and season with ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon black pepper.

3. Roast until cooked through, 25 to 30 minutes, basting with the jelly mixture twice during the last 10 minutes of cooking.

4. Meanwhile, heat the remaining tablespoon of oil in a large skillet over medium heat.

5. Add the garlic and raisins and cook, stirring frequently, until the garlic is golden, 2 to 3 minutes.

6. Add the spinach and ¼ teaspoon each salt and black pepper and cook, tossing, until spinach begins to wilt, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve with the chicken.

Tip

Swiss chard also works well in this easy side dish.

Nutritional Information

Calories 536; Fat 26g; Sat Fat 6g; Cholesterol 119mg; Sodium 541mg; Protein 40g; Carbohydrate 38g; Sugar 30g; Fiber 3g; Iron 3mg; Calcium 137mg